💰 Project Helix is set to be coming soon, although at a hefty cost
😬 The hybrid console is set to cost between $1,200 and $1,800
📅 It’s set to release during the 2028 holiday season, according to a new Fortune report
🎮 Before that, Microsoft intends to release a Project Helix handheld by the end of 2027
Microsoft’s Xbox Project Helix console is tipped to launch as soon as 2028, although it looks like it’ll come with a hefty price tag to match its ambitions.
As part of a profile of incumbent Xbox CEO Asha Sharma from Fortune, the publication has divulged some alleged new details on Xbox’s progress on Project Helix.
It alludes to a dual release strategy for Microsoft’s upcoming gaming hardware, with a “next generation handheld device” by the end of 2027 (potentially an Asus ROG Xbox Ally X 2 for instance), and a 2028 holiday season console release that could cost between $1,200 and $1,800.
The purported price tag is based on what has “internally been projected” by Microsoft, according to Fortune. The price could come down if “Microsoft decides to subsidize the cost”, as console makers have done in the past.
A price tag between $1,200 and $1,800 would comfortably make Project Helix the most expensive console ever, and push it way above traditional expectations for the kind of device it is.
It’s further evidence as to how widespread the memory crisis has pushed prices up across the board, which has meant gaming hardware isn’t as cheap as it used to be.
For instance, Sony’s two-year–old PS5 Pro is now going for $900, if you can find one that is, while Microsoft recently raised the price of its own consoles, so an Xbox Series X now starts at $750. Even the Steam Machine, which was originally destined to be a value-oriented living room PC, starts at $1,049.
Fortune’s report also notes that Microsoft is having internal struggles over what operating system its Helix handheld is going to run, whether it’s a “trimmed down version of Windows Home”, as the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X does, or a bespoke operating system built and controlled by Xbox.
According to the report, one high-level Microsoft executive has threatened to cancel the handheld altogether if they decide that it’ll run a form of Windows.
Supposedly, as a result, it has given the Xbox team the lead to control its operating system, even though the two teams are working closely together, according to Sharma.
Microsoft has also pressured its hardware team to move up the timeline for Project Helix by “at least several months”, according to the Fortune report, by using AI tools where applicable.
Microsoft hasn’t divulged much about Project Helix officially, although in a previous interview, Sharma hinted that Helix could mean a family of devices, rather than just one
It’s unknown as to whether the device will take discs, though, as the question has been deflected by the Xbox CEO in the past. Microsoft has introduced its new “disc to digital” option for Xbox One and Xbox Series X games in recent weeks to allow users to transfer a disc license to digital to help users migrate a physical game library to a digital one.
Up next: PS6 price could top $1,000 as RAM and SSD costs skyrocket
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.