With the uncertainty of when the next-generation consoles are actually rolling around, Xbox has decided it should take the initiative by showing off a teaser. This comes in the form of what the Microsoft videogames division calls Project Helix. New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma also says that she will talk about it more next week at GDC. Incidentally, there’s also a Short on the company’s YouTube channel.
This comes via Sharma’s own X account, as part of what she calls their “commitment to the return of Xbox”. She claims Project Helix will not only “lead in performance”, but also “play your Xbox and PC games”. Which makes it sound less than a console and more like a PC. Or maybe it’s an idea inspired by the Steam Machine.
Nothing much has been shared so far, but all that is probably saved for GDC. Of course, these usually don’t translate perfectly to gaming performance, but getting to know the hardware and their performance benchmarks would at least set expectations. The only rumour about on the subject is that it will use an AMD APU codenamed Magnus. And that allegedly features an 11-core Zen 6 CPU paired with RDNA 5 graphics. In terms of sheer novelty at least, this puts it ahead of the Steam Machine.
Still On Course For 2027?
While we’re on the subject, AMD head Lisa Su said early last month that the next-gen Xbox is still on track for a 2027 release. This is despite the market uncertainty caused by the memory shortage crisis. A previous Bloomberg report points to Sony considering pushing the next-generation PlayStation console all the way back to 2029.
With all that in mind, a new Xbox releasing next year seems optimistic. Though a console getting a release a year after its development codename gets publicised is not unheard of. Granted, this was a leak, but codename for the PS5 prototype for devs, Prospero, was out in the wild a year before the console launched.
Of course, Sharma has not said anything about a release date, and is probably saving that for GDC, if that. But that would be the earliest possible time when we get a confirmation for any of those questions.
(Source: Asha Sharma / X, Xbox / Youtube, Bloomberg, Gizmodo)
