Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console could carry a price tag of between $1,200 and $1,800, according to a new report, a figure that would make it one of the most expensive game consoles ever brought to market. The device, reportedly code-named Project Helix, is said to be targeting a 2028 launch, though the final cost could come down if Microsoft chooses to subsidize the hardware.
Subsidizing consoles is a long-standing practice in the industry, with platform holders often selling hardware at a loss and recouping the difference through games, subscriptions, and services. When the Xbox Series X and S launched in 2020, then-Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said Microsoft was losing as much as $200 on every console sold. Whether the company would absorb a similar or larger loss on a device priced near $1,800 is unclear.
Part of what is driving the projected cost is an ongoing shortage of memory and other components fueled by the artificial intelligence boom. Microsoft is itself one of the largest backers of AI infrastructure, meaning its own build-out is contributing to the market conditions that could make its next console so expensive. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma responded to that irony by saying it is «wonderful» that GPUs now have uses beyond gaming.
The report also points to a shift in who buys consoles. Wealthier households already make up the majority of console buyers, and that trend is expected to continue, which could make a premium-priced device more viable than it would have been in earlier generations.
Beyond the console, the report says Microsoft may release a next-generation handheld Xbox device by the end of 2027, though no pricing or further details were provided. Project Helix is described as an effort to build a «family of devices,» a framing that appears to span both the console and the handheld.
The report also describes internal friction over what software the devices should run. Microsoft's Xbox and Windows teams reportedly clashed, with the Windows side pushing for a trimmed-down version of Windows Home on the handheld while the Xbox team argued for dedicated software. An unnamed senior Xbox executive was said to have threatened to cancel the handheld entirely rather than use Windows. Xbox is now said to be largely controlling the direction of the handheld's operating system, though Sharma told the outlet that the two teams work together, adding, «We can't build Helix on our own.»
Sharma took over as Xbox CEO in February and immediately declared that the business was in an unhealthy place, moving to cut staff, close studios, and cancel games. About 2,000 layoffs have been carried out so far, and the report says more are coming this month, in November, and again in January 2027. In July, as part of an organizational reset, Sharma announced plans to cut 3,200 staffers over Microsoft's 2027 fiscal year, including 1,600 at that time, and roughly 260 more employees were laid off in September.
Her changes have also included letting Double Fine and Compulsion Games become independent again, while Ninja Theory, the studio behind Senua, may close. Sharma has additionally handed the Halo franchise to Activision. The report also touches on speculation that Xbox could be spun off or sold, though no decision has been confirmed.
For players, the reported price range raises questions about whether a high-end console can find a broad audience, particularly as component costs remain volatile. For Microsoft, the challenge is balancing the cost of ambitious hardware against a restructuring effort that is still underway and a software strategy that has yet to be fully settled.