Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has confirmed that Project Helix, the codename Microsoft gave its next-generation console effort back in March, will actually arrive as a family of devices rather than a single machine. Sharma made the comment to BBC News at Gamescom, walking back the singular framing Microsoft used when it first revealed the Project Helix codename.
“We’ve been hard at work on a great next generation and a great family of devices for Helix, and we’ll share more soon,” Sharma said. The line came in response to a question about whether Helix would ship without a disc drive. Sharma didn’t answer that part directly, though the timing is suggestive: this week Microsoft announced a way to claim digital copies of games you already own on disc, a feature that matters more if a future Xbox arrives without a drive at all.
How Project Helix became a family of devices
When Microsoft first named Project Helix in March, it described the codename as covering its “next generation console”, language that read as a single box. Sharma’s comment reframes that as a lineup. Here’s what’s actually locked down versus what’s still guesswork:
- Confirmed: a custom AMD system-on-chip, built under the multi-year Microsoft-AMD hardware partnership announced in 2025.
- Confirmed: support for both Xbox and PC games on the same hardware.
- Unconfirmed: release date, disc drive support, and how many devices make up the lineup.
The plural framing lines up with how Microsoft has already split the current generation between the Xbox Series S and Series X, two machines at different price points running the same software library. If Helix repeats that structure, “family of devices” likely means at least a cheaper and a more powerful configuration rather than a single flagship.
Affordability claims meet a leaked price range
Sharma’s comments have also been summarised by VGC as centring on affordability. That framing sits awkwardly next to the numbers currently circulating. A leaker cited by TechPowerUp has claimed Helix hardware will be priced like a $2,000 to $3,000 high-end gaming PC. By our arithmetic, that’s a $1,000 spread across the range, with the top configuration running 50% above the base price. None of that is confirmed by Microsoft, and a leaker’s claim about unannounced hardware should be read as exactly that, but it’s a wide enough gap that “affordable” and “family of devices” won’t both hold up unless the cheaper end of that range lands well under $2,000.
What Microsoft has stated on the record stays narrow: a custom AMD chip, support for Xbox and PC games, and now, a plural device strategy. Pricing, disc support and the actual number of devices shipping under the Helix name are still speculation built on a handful of leaks and one carefully worded quote.
What to watch next
Sharma said Microsoft will “share more soon” on Helix, without attaching a date. The open questions worth tracking are whether any Helix device ships without a disc drive, given this week’s digital-copy program, and whether the eventual lineup lands closer to the $2,000 leaked floor or drifts toward the $3,000 ceiling once Microsoft confirms real specs.
