Could a more affordable Xbox be coming?

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has addressed pricing plans for the upcoming Project Helix console, which will be the gaming giant’s next generation of hardware. Rumours suggest it will be a console and PC hybrid.

Speaking to theBBC at Gamescom, Sharma said: “This next generation, we have to be thinking about efficiency and affordability alongside performance. As an industry, we’re in the middle of a Rampocalypse.”

There are critical shortages of key gaming hardware components, such as RAM (random access memory), storage and GPUs (graphics processing units), because of huge tech companies swallowing up supply by building AI data centres. This has caused the prices of affected components to skyrocket, which is why older gaming hardware is increasing in price at an unprecedented rate.

“All of the industry needs to start to innovate on affordability and efficiency,” she added. “That is something that we have not had to do.

“But with the [ongoing] crisis … it is absolutely something all of us need to be thinking about and innovating on and giving people more choice in terms of how they play their console and how they purchase their console.”

Xbox also recently revealed details about its disc-to-digital programme. This is an upcoming feature where players who own existing copies of games can insert the disc into their console to obtain a digital licence for it.

Xbox Insiders can begin testing the feature from Monday (31 August) and thousands of games, including most Xbox Series and Xbox One titles, will already have compatibility to do this, with more being accessible during the rollout.

Jason Ronald, Xbox VP Next Generation, said: “This is part of our broader commitment to game preservation. As technology, devices and distribution continue to evolve, preserving access to the games people own matters more than ever.”

This comes after Sony recently announced it would stop the production of physical PlayStation discs for games starting January 2028. The company said discs will still continue to be produced after this date for games that release before then, but this is the biggest step the gaming industry has seen so far toward a potential all-digital future.