Xbox <\/b>has announced that it is working on its next generation console, codenamed Project Helix<\/b>. And while Sony is reportedly pulling their first-party games from the PC market in the name of console exclusivity, Microsoft appears to be going in the other direction.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because Project Helix is being touted as a PC\/console hybrid that\u2019s able to play both Xbox and PC games. This is according to Microsoft Gaming\u2019s newly-minted CEO Asha Sharma, who took over from Phil Spencer last month, and confirms longstanding rumours that Microsoft is pursuing a hybrid console for the next generation.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s certainly the culmination of the company\u2019s efforts to merge both its PC and console product segments. Out of the three big three console brands, Xbox has been the most proactive in branching out to the PC market; the ROG Xbox Ally and Play Anywhere come to mind. No surprise as Microsoft, which operates Windows, stands to gain the most from this pivot.<\/p>\n The ROG Xbox Ally was the Microsoft\u2019s first (and pretty successful) foray outside the traditional console market, and could play Xbox and PC games via Game Pass.<\/p>\n Photo: HWZ.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n And given the flagging sales of the Xbox Series X and S, Microsoft has all the more reason to double down on Helix. Details are pretty sparse though, as we don\u2019t know when it\u2019ll release or how much it\u2019ll cost.<\/p>\n On that latter point, there has already been speculation that it\u2019ll be priced higher than its Xbox Series X|S predecessors, notably by gaming tech analyst Moore\u2019s Law Is Dead, who puts it around US$900 to US$1,200. We also don\u2019t have concrete hardware details, though Sharma suggests that it will \u201clead in performance.\u201d<\/p>\n It certainly has to, as this hybrid pitch puts it in contention not just with the PS6, but also the Steam Machine, which will similarly offer a home console-like experience to play PC games on. With competition like that, it would certainly be disadvantageous for Microsoft not to give Helix more horsepower, especially if it does have a more premium price tag.<\/p>\n On that note, however, one unexpected consequence may be the end of the traditional PlayStation-Xbox rivalry, which has defined the past 20 or so years of home consoles. Now that the blue and green sides seem to be going their separate ways regarding who their target audiences are, perhaps the fiercest days of this old feud are well and truly past us now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n