Microsoft Corp’s Xbox division plans to send an early version of its next console to game developers in 2027, kicking off a new generation of hardware that will feel drastically different than previous iterations.
Jason Ronald, a vice president at Xbox, announced the news Wednesday at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Speaking to a crowd of several hundred game makers, he touted the benefits of the company’s Play Anywhere initiative, which allows people to play the same titles on Xbox and PC. That strategy will form the backbone for the next Xbox console, dubbed Project Helix.
"The biggest games in the world play across many different screens,” Ronald said.
The company hasn’t said when the new console will be available to consumers.
Unlike previous consoles, the new machine will function like a personal computer, marking a big shift in design. Traditionally, consoles from Xbox and rivals Sony Group Corp and Nintendo Co were only capable of playing games built to play on those specific machines.
In the presentation, Ronald said the "next generation of Xbox” will involve Helix, as well as handheld platforms such as last year’s ROG Ally X and accessories.
Xbox Chief Executive Officer Asha Sharma, who was promoted to the top job last month, is navigating through a turbulent time. The gaming division expanded rapidly under previous boss Phil Spencer, who led the US$69bil (RM270bil) acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but since 2024 it has been cutting jobs, canceling games and shutting down studios to boost profitability.
For the last decade, the PlayStation and Switch consoles have outpaced the Xbox, forcing Microsoft’s gaming division to rethink its strategy. Over the last two years, Xbox has been putting its games on both of those rival platforms, embracing a strategy that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
At the conference, Xbox is looking to entice game makers for its new machine. A booth in the Moscone Center featured several old Xbox prototypes and a large banner inviting developers to "Build for what’s next.”
Rivals are taking the opposite approach. Nintendo still puts all of its games solely on Switch consoles, and earlier this year, Sony decided to pull back on releasing its big single-player games on PC in favor of sticking to PlayStation exclusivity, Bloomberg has reported. – Bloomberg
