Xbox's Next Console, Codenamed 'Project Helix,' Will Be Several Devices, Not Just One
Asha Sharma, the new CEO of Xbox, has confirmed that "Project Helix" is the code name for Xbox's next-generation console — and that it will be a "great family of devices," meaning more than one type of console is coming. Sharma made the remarks in an interview with BBC News at gamescom 2026, a major gaming event. The news was reported by The Verge on August 28 and elaborated on by Engadget on August 29.
Sharma was asked whether the next Xbox will come without a disc drive. She did not answer directly, instead steering the conversation toward the broader range of devices Xbox is planning. Xbox plans to send early prototype versions of the Project Helix console to game developers starting next year, according to Engadget.
Sharma said Project Helix will be able to play both console and PC games, though it is unclear whether every device in the lineup will support that feature or only certain ones. She said Xbox will "continue to push the boundaries of performance" with Project Helix and will share more details soon. Separately, Sharma confirmed that Project Helix will focus on keeping costs down amid rising prices, as reported by VGC.
The multi-device plan was hinted at earlier in 2026. In an April 23 Xbox newsroom post titled "We Are XBOX," Project Helix was described as a performance leader that plays both console and PC games. A June 10 post called "Next 100 Days: XBOX Reset," co-authored by Sharma and Matt, said Xbox needs a new business model and new partnerships for hardware while staying committed to Project Helix. The June post suggests Xbox leadership believes its current approach to making and selling hardware is not financially sustainable and is looking at bigger structural changes, not just gradual improvements.
Sharma's remarks at gamescom come against a specific industry backdrop. Sony has announced that PlayStation will go fully digital and stop making disc-based games by 2028. That gives Microsoft a narrow window to decide how Project Helix will handle discs, relative to a competitor that has already set a public deadline. The fact that Sharma was asked the disc question at all shows how much attention the industry is paying to the future of physical game discs. Her decision to redirect the conversation toward a family of devices rather than confirm or deny a discless approach is notable, though reading it as a deliberate strategy would be speculative.
The performance and affordability goals are in tension with each other. Building next-generation console hardware typically means better graphics processing, faster memory, and quicker storage, all of which cost more at the component level. Sharma's promise of both high performance and affordability suggests one of a few possibilities: aggressive partnerships with chipmakers, a lineup where a premium device leads on performance and cheaper models reach more buyers, or a business model that lowers hardware prices by making money back through software and services. The June 10 "reset" post's mention of a "new business model" supports the latter possibility, but Xbox has not explained what that model would look like.
For developers, the early hardware shipping next year is the more immediately important milestone. Sending out early test units starts a long process of building and refining the tools developers use to make games, optimizing game engines, and adding features specific to the new platform. That work determines whether games available at launch can genuinely take advantage of what the new hardware offers. The multi-device nature of Project Helix makes this harder: developers will need to make games that run across several devices with potentially different performance levels, rather than a single fixed machine. Anyone who has made games for Windows is used to this kind of challenge, but it is new territory for the Xbox ecosystem, which has historically been a single, fixed set of hardware specifications.
The ability to play both console and PC games is the most interesting part of this announcement. If Project Helix devices can run Xbox console titles and PC games without any special workarounds, the line between an Xbox and a Windows gaming computer narrows considerably. That affects how game stores make money, how developers get their games approved, and Microsoft's broader gaming strategy. But the specifics depend entirely on how the feature works and which devices include it — details Xbox has not yet shared.
