{"id":79895,"date":"2026-08-27T11:20:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T03:20:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=79895"},"modified":"2026-08-27T11:20:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T03:20:41","slug":"xbox-ceo-asha-sharma-opens-up-on-future-of-physical-games-for-next-generation-console-project-helix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=79895","title":{"rendered":"Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Opens Up on Future of Physical Games for Next Generation Console Project Helix"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Xbox CEO Asha Sharma was cagey when asked if the company\u2019s next console, codenamed Project Helix, will have a disc drive or not, but gave some optimistic insights into its approach to physical games.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Speaking with the <u>BBC<\/u> in August 2026, Sharma didn\u2019t give a straight answer; instead, she said Xbox is currently focused on making its next generation hardware cost-effective and efficient.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">\u201cThis next generation, we have to be thinking about efficiency and affordability alongside performance,&#8221; she told the outlet. <\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"\/><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" decoding=\"async\" role=\"presentation\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2896921488 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3027214138 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;All of the industry needs to start to innovate on affordability and efficiency,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;That is something that we have not had to do. But with the <u>crisis that&#8217;s currently happening<\/u> in hardware and components, it is absolutely something all of us need to be thinking about and innovating on and giving people more choice in terms of how they play their console and how they purchase their console.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">While she couldn\u2019t outright confirm or deny the existence of a disc drive for Project Helix, Sharma is well-aware of the current debate surrounding physical media, and assured the BBC that she wants to give players a choice when it comes to how they choose to purchase content.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;I know players love physical media, and I know there&#8217;s a lot of benefits in digital media, and I want to make sure people have a choice. There are stacks of games on everybody&#8217;s shelves,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-video\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Although it wasn\u2019t exactly a clear answer, her statement does give a positive impression of Xbox\u2019s future plans for physical games \u2014 something the brand is <u>already winning points for<\/u>, having recently confirmed an initiative that will allow players to digitize their physical games into an online library.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">First leaked earlier this summer, Xbox officially announced its <u>disc-to-digital program<\/u> on August 26 during Gamescom, which will roll out for Xbox Insiders starting on August 31 before becoming available to all players at an as-yet unconfirmed date.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">This makes Xbox \u2014 which recently underwent one of the most significant restructurings in the company\u2019s history \u2014 look pretty good in comparison to PlayStation, whose decision to end the production of physical game discs starting January 2028 has unsurprisingly turned out to be quite unpopular.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-video\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Disgruntled gamers are taking to the comments section of every social media post from the company to spread awareness about the ordeal, but Sony isn\u2019t alone \u2014 GTA 6, the most highly-anticipated game in recent memory, is also forgoing a physical disc in favor of a digital code inside a disc case. Developer Rockstar has stood firm in its decision to bypass an actual disc, with Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick saying discs \u201cdon\u2019t really make sense for the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">For now, it&#8217;s anyone&#8217;s guess as to what Project Helix will end up looking like when it comes to physical game discs, but previous reporting has hinted that it will likely be fully digital.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Virginia (she\/her) is IGN\u2019s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she\u2019s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at <\/em><em>@TheeMissGlaze<\/em><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/xbox-ceo-asha-sharma-opens-up-on-future-of-physical-games-for-next-generation-console-project-helix\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xbox CEO Asha Sharma was cagey when asked if the company\u2019s next console, codenamed Project Helix, will have a disc drive or not, but gave&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[16236,5668,3577,2562,321,8083,17360,3633,4810,781,21381,162],"class_list":["post-79895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-asha","tag-ceo","tag-console","tag-future","tag-games","tag-generation","tag-helix","tag-opens","tag-physical","tag-project","tag-sharma","tag-xbox","wpcat-32-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}