Software King of the World, Microsoft has started talking about about its next XBox which will have the ability to play PC games
Xbox’s new boss, Asha Sharma, is teasing a console that runs “your Xbox and PC games” while everyone else waits for the specs.
Microsoft has confirmed the box is in development, though it is keeping the proper details close to its chest. The early pitch is a hybrid that sits somewhere between a traditional console and a gaming PC.
The codename was dropped by Sharma, who insists Microsoft still believes in dedicated hardware. That is a tidy way of swatting away the chatter that Xbox would drift into cloud-only territory.
Sharma said: “Great start to the morning with Team Xbox, where we talked about our commitment to the return of Xbox, including Project Helix, the code name for our next generation console.
Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games. Looking forward to chatting about this more with partners and studios at my first GDC next week!”
Microsoft has not confirmed specifications, but the talk is the system will lean on a new AMD system-on-chip that marries Xbox hardware with PC-style architecture. The stated aim is high performance without breaking compatibility with existing Xbox libraries.
The juicy bit is the promise to run PC games, with the usual whispers about storefronts like Steam tagging along for the ride. Microsoft has been nudging the industry towards shared tooling across Xbox and Windows for years.
If Project Helix really behaves like a more open, PC-flavoured console, it changes the shape of the walled garden. Developers could see easier porting, fewer weird platform corners and less time spent babysitting bespoke console constraints.
