Microsoft Announces Project Helix, the Next Generation of Xbox Consoles, Said to Be Able to Run Xbox and PC Games

Peter_Brosdahl

Peter_Brosdahl

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Microsoft surprised the gaming world last night with a teaser video revealing the codename for its next line of Xbox gaming consoles in development.

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They have all been PCs since the flipping pong box. Ever since Xbox fhe core OS has been the same. They are just more general purpose PCs now.
 
Sony had already been moving that direction back with the PS2 and PS3. You could order all sorts of accessories which would essentially transform into them a PC, I was keenly interested in this due to the incredible performance of the CPUs but too expensive and it wouldn't have really been worth it due to lack of productivity software. However, it was always fun to see different parts mentioned in the magazines back in the day which were usually only available overseas.

Meanwhile, once MS/Sony committed to using AMD x86 processors I never saw them as anything other than a streamlined gaming focused PC with locked in OSes.
 
I was thinking the same, basically what Sony did for the PS3 titles on 4 and 5.
 
This looks like what future PC gaming is coming to eventually.
 
Niner51 said:
This looks like what future PC gaming is coming to eventually.
Click to expand...
This is what console gaming is coming to. It will be all PC.. You can have a general purpose PC, or a PC built to run games and little else like this or the steam machine. Or you can have a PS5 that only runs sony games, doesn't seem that appealing when put that way.
 
Its a pc with a special Xbox decoder ring bit. If that's a software bit it will be in PC deaktops not long after release. If it's a dedicated piece.of hardware an unlocker will be along shortly enough.

Smart.thjng to do is MS offers users a qualification to be Xbox compatible that unlocks that feature on PCs.

But I dont think they wil and the community will solve that one.
 
Grimlakin said:
Smart.thjng to do is MS offers users a qualification to be Xbox compatible that unlocks that feature on PCs.
Click to expand...
they can't. it is a legal issue. only the 'console' is allowed to play xbox games


what they can do is allow OEMs to sell the Helix/Magnus hardware as third party consoles. outside of this a normal PC hardware is not legally allowed to play xbox games

btw the architecture of helix is like an igpu & not discrete gpu.
the AT2 in magnus (or AT4 in medusa premium) is treated as an igpu with unified RAM.
 
Grimlakin said:
Its a pc with a special Xbox decoder ring bit. If that's a software bit it will be in PC deaktops not long after release. If it's a dedicated piece.of hardware an unlocker will be along shortly enough.

Smart.thjng to do is MS offers users a qualification to be Xbox compatible that unlocks that feature on PCs.

But I dont think they wil and the community will solve that one.
Click to expand...

I don't think it will even have a "xbox decoder", I mean there is no point on having Xbox exclusives anymore that won't work on PC (xbox exclusives are few and good ones even fewer). As I said before xbox, retro compatibility will most likely be from streaming, why give the player free access to their library when you can charge them a fee to play it?
 
Marees said:
they can't. it is a legal issue. only the 'console' is allowed to play xbox games


what they can do is allow OEMs to sell the Helix/Magnus hardware as third party consoles. outside of this a normal PC hardware is not legally allowed to play xbox games

btw the architecture of helix is like an igpu & not discrete gpu.
the AT2 in magnus (or AT4 in medusa premium) is treated as an igpu with unified RAM.
Click to expand...
Tell that to the xbox rog ally (or any other PC that uses Game Pass Ultimate), you can play xbox titles on it... via streaming.
 
Marees said:
they can't. it is a legal issue. only the 'console' is allowed to play xbox games


what they can do is allow OEMs to sell the Helix/Magnus hardware as third party consoles. outside of this a normal PC hardware is not legally allowed to play xbox games

btw the architecture of helix is like an igpu & not discrete gpu.
the AT2 in magnus (or AT4 in medusa premium) is treated as an igpu with unified RAM.
Click to expand...
I don't think this matters. The biggest issue would be QC. Heck you could even sell an USB key that unlocks "xbox" mode and is tied to a active subscription to work (like 5 bucks a month) and people would line up.

What I suspect will happen is MS will try to make XBOX mode exclusive to specific hardware setups and certifications. And in the end will give up. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
 
https://twitter.com/x/status/2031794158055408062

Powering the experience: super excited to unveil
@AMD
FSR Diamond, designed to be natively optimized for Project Helix and deeply integrated into the GDK:• Built for next-gen neural rendering• Next-gen ML-based upscaling• New ML-based multi-frame generation• Next-gen Ray Regeneration for RT & Path Tracing
 

Xbox CEO calls Project Helix a ‘family of devices’​

Microsoft’s next Xbox console may not be just one piece of hardware.
by Jay Peters
Aug 29, 2026, 3:33 AM GMT+5:30

According to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Project Helix, which she announced in March as a codename for Microsoft’s “next generation console” — phrasing that seemingly implied a singular device — will actually be a “family” of devices.”

“We’ve been hard at work on a great next generation and a great family of devices for Helix, and we’ll share more soon,” Sharma told BBC News.

https://www.theverge.com/games/986337/xbox-ceo-asha-sharma-project-helix-family-of-devices
 
Marees said:

Xbox CEO calls Project Helix a ‘family of devices’​

Microsoft’s next Xbox console may not be just one piece of hardware.
by Jay Peters
Aug 29, 2026, 3:33 AM GMT+5:30

According to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Project Helix, which she announced in March as a codename for Microsoft’s “next generation console” — phrasing that seemingly implied a singular device — will actually be a “family” of devices.”

“We’ve been hard at work on a great next generation and a great family of devices for Helix, and we’ll share more soon,” Sharma told BBC News.

https://www.theverge.com/games/986337/xbox-ceo-asha-sharma-project-helix-family-of-devices
Click to expand...
expect an Xbox Series S2

$600
matches or beats PS5 pro
24gb ram
0.5TB storage
optional external disc drive
 
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