What a five years it’s been for Xbox. The Xbox Series consoles’ lifespan has seen Microsoft’s gaming ambitions shot into the stratosphere by the $67.9 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. At the same time, the Series X and Series S consoles — despite being arguably Xbox’s best hardware to date — have sold poorly, falling behind even their unpopular predecessor Xbox One, never mind PlayStation 5 and the all-conquering Nintendo Switch.
As a result, Microsoft has abandoned the last vestiges of console exclusivity for any of its games, even including Xbox stalwarts like Halo, Forza, and Gears of War. Exclusivity to Game Pass on day one took the place the consoles had once occupied. But that service seems to have hit its ceiling, long before it can pay for itself. Microsoft has finally solved the drought of first-party games that plagued it during the Xbox One era and the first years of the Xbox Series — but, ironically, it has nowhere useful to put all those games (other than on PC and PS5).
All that being the case, predictions of the death of Xbox consoles are not hard to come by. But Microsoft has already announced the next generation of Xbox console, code named Project Helix. What form will it take? Here’s what we know so far.
What is the latest news about the next Xbox, Project Helix?
Well-informed gaming hardware YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead has estimated that Project Helix will cost between $1,000 and $1,200 — at least double the price of Xbox Series X when it launched in 2020.
Considering the apparently very high spec of the machine, and current high prices for RAM, Moore’s Law is Dead estimates that Microsoft could sell it at cost for $900. But he thinks Microsoft will want to make a profit on the devices, which is probably true; pricing consoles aggressively as a loss-leader doesn’t really vibe with the broader, multi-platform strategy Microsoft is pursuing at the moment.
“So, I will say that I think expect at least $1,000,” Moore’s Law is Dead said. “If they wanted to be crazy aggressive, I could see $900 and most likely I could see $1,200, but I don’t think more than $1,500.” He pointed out that while the cost is historically high for a console, the device will essentially be a gaming PC, and should be able to compete with pre-built rigs from manufacturers like Asus that cost over $2,000.
Specs leaks also suggest Project Helix will be considerably more powerful than PlayStation 6. “A lot of people will still just get the PlayStation,” Moore’s Law is Dead said. “Most people will, I think. But for people who want to go to PC gaming and had an Xbox, I think that’ll be a compelling argument at $1,000 and probably still even at $1,200.”
What is Project Helix’s release date?
According to a comment from the CEO of chip supplier AMD, as well as the most recent report from Windows Central’s Jez Corden, Project Helix is tentatively scheduled for a late 2027 release date. This is consistent with an industry-standard seven-year lifespan for the Xbox Series consoles, which launched in late 2020. It’s also consistent with Sony’s planned release date for PlayStation 6.
Or at least, it was. Sony is reportedly pushing PS6’s debut back to 2028 or even 2029 due to the RAM crisis which is causing chip shortages and price spikes for all kinds of computing hardware, as the world’s supply of computer memory is snapped up by tech giants building out AI datacenters.
