46 mins agoFeatured Tech News, Software & Gaming
While it was previously believed that Microsoft was targeting 2027 for the launch of its next-gen console, Project Helix, it appears things have changed. According to a new report, Microsoft plans to launch its next-gen Xbox in 2028, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see any new hardware in 2027.
Project Helix won’t be getting an early release after all. According to a massive Fortune article covering Asha Sharma’s first year as the CEO of Xbox, it is revealed that Microsoft is targeting 2028 for Project Helix, but it still has hardware plans for 2027. Apparently, Microsoft is also making its first Xbox handheld, presumably a first-party one and not a licensed product like the ROG Xbox Ally, which served as a testing ground for the new ‘gaming’ version of Windows.
It is still unclear exactly how much a next-gen Xbox will cost when it eventually launches, but current projections point to a $1200 to $1800 price tag, far higher than the typical $500 console we’ve become used to over the past couple of generations. On top of that, the Windows handheld market is also highly expensive, with the majority of devices targeting $1000 price points, rather than competing with the Steam Deck at the lower end of the market.
With that in mind, I don’t necessarily expect the handheld to be ‘cheap’ either. It will be less powerful than a full Helix console, and potentially even less powerful than a Series X, but in the current hardware market, that doesn’t always lead to a much lower price tag.
KitGuru Says: How much do you think the next Xbox handheld will end up costing?
