Report claims next Xbox is targeting 2028 and could cost between $1,200 and $1,800
Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch a next-gen Xbox handheld next year
Xbox’s next console, Project Helix, will release by the holiday season in 2028 and could cost between $1,200 and $1,800, according to a new report.
That’s according to a new profile of CEO Asha Sharma by Fortune, which features alleged new details on Xbox’s progress developing Project Helix.
According to the publication, Microsoft’s gaming arm is planning to release a “next-generation handheld device” by the 2027 holiday season, and its next console by the holidays in 2028.
“As it stands, the price of the Helix console has internally been projected to cost consumers between $1,200 and $1,800,” Fortune claims, “unless Microsoft decides to subsidize the cost.”
The Helix price projections align with what analysts and insiders have warned could be on the cards for the next generation of game consoles, given ongoing global component shortages that have driven up the cost of consumer electronics.
Last week, it was claimed that Sony’s PlayStation 6 storage and memory components alone will cost the company “over $680” per console. And earlier this year, industry analysts debated if next-gen consoles would retail for over $1,000, considering the price of new hardware is currently at an all-time high.
Elsewhere in the Fortune profile, it’s claimed that Xbox has clashed with its Windows counterparts over what software Project Helix will run.
“Windows leaders wanted an upcoming handheld device to use a trimmed-down version of Windows Home. Sharma’s team, meanwhile, has sought to build and control its own software to get the best gaming performance,” it says.
It also claims that Microsoft is planning to overhaul Xbox Game Pass, allowing players to “choose features à la carte”, including add-ons for cloud gaming, and multiplayer.
Microsoft unveiled its plans for the next Xbox back at GDC in March, when it confirmed that its next-generation game console will run both “Xbox and PC games”, and arrive in developers’ hands starting next year. It later warned that it needs to consider new business models to cover rising hardware costs.
Microsoft recently announced it was raising the price of Xbox Series S and X by up to $150, and introduced new programs to help make its consoles more affordable, including Buy Now, Pay Later options through Microsoft Stores.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz earlier this year, Aldora CEO Joost van Dreunen said he believed it was certain that new consoles will cost north of $1,000, warning: “At this rate, the next generation may not even release until 2028, and when it does, north of a grand is the floor. Even existing devices are getting marked up.”
