The software king of the world, Microsoft’s next Xbox could cost as much as $1,800, apparently bringing premium gaming and financial distress into the same living room.
According to Ars Technica, citing Fortune’s profile of Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma, Microsoft internally projects a $1,200–$1,800 price for Project Helix.
The Volish console is reportedly planned for the 2028 Christmas shopping season, following a handheld in 2027. Microsoft could subsidise the hardware to reduce its retail price.
These remain reported internal plans, giving Vole time to reconsider precisely how much punishment the family credit card can absorb. The hardware strategy comes with an internal argument about the software.
Windows Central reports that Windows executives wanted the handheld to run a modified desktop version of Windows, while Xbox preferred an operating system experience designed around gaming.
One senior Xbox executive reportedly threatened to cancel the handheld if the team had to adopt the Windows build.
The Xbox group now largely controls the operating system’s direction. That would continue an established approach: Xbox One and Series consoles already use customised software built on Microsoft’s Windows core.
Windows Central cautions that it remains unclear whether Microsoft will make the planned handheld itself or have a partner manufacture it. Game Pass could face changes too. Fortune’s reporting describes a proposed subscription structure that would let customers choose features through separate add-ons.
Those could include console-only games, cloud gaming and multiplayer access. Microsoft appears interested in giving subscribers greater control over exactly which parts of their wallets get emptied.
The report has fuelled speculation about Xbox’s future within Microsoft, although senior executive Judson Althoff rejected suggestions that Sharma was appointed to prepare a sale.
“We would not have put her on a business we intend to sell,” Althoff told Fortune.
