Xbox Project Helix could launch as a device family

Microsoft’s next Xbox may not be a single console. Asha Sharma, the company’s Xbox CEO, described Project Helix as a “great family of devices” in a BBC News interview at Gamescom 2026. Her comments suggest that Microsoft’s next-generation platform could include multiple hardware products rather than replace the Xbox Series X|S with one box.

Microsoft has identified Project Helix as the codename for its next-generation Xbox platform, but Sharma’s comments suggest that the project includes more than one form factor. The company has not said whether that means separate high-end and lower-cost consoles, a handheld, or another type of Xbox hardware. Those possibilities are not confirmed.

“great family of devices”

Sharma also said Xbox will “continue to push the boundaries of performance” and reiterated that Helix will play both console and PC games. It isn’t clear whether that capability applies to every product in the planned family or only to a particular device. Microsoft has not disclosed the processors, graphics hardware, storage, memory, operating system details, performance targets or prices for any Helix product.

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Developer hardware is planned for 2027

The first concrete timing attached to Helix is aimed at developers, not consumers. Microsoft plans to send alpha versions—or, in the broader wording used elsewhere, early versions—of the Helix hardware to developers in 2027. That points to hardware validation and software development, but it does not establish a retail launch date.

Developer hardware can represent one product in a larger lineup, and the source material does not say whether all Helix devices will reach the market at the same time. Microsoft also has not announced consumer availability, retail pricing or a final product count.

The multiple-device approach fits Microsoft’s effort to make Xbox less dependent on a single living-room machine. The company is connecting consoles, PCs, cloud gaming and portable play, while bringing Game Pass cloud gaming to compatible Hisense TVs running VIDAA OS 9.6 or later. A Helix family could extend that strategy through dedicated hardware, but Microsoft’s comments do not explain how the devices would divide capabilities or price points.

The disc-drive question is still open

Sharma’s “family of devices” comment came while she was asked whether the next Xbox would be disc-less. She did not answer directly, leaving physical media unresolved as Sony has announced plans to go fully digital and stop making disc-based PlayStation games by 2028.

For Xbox owners, that is more than a cosmetic specification. A digital-only Helix device could make existing physical game collections less useful, while a lineup with multiple products could let Microsoft reserve a disc drive for one model and omit it from others. Nothing in the comments confirms that plan, however, and Microsoft has not said whether any Helix product will include a disc drive.

The unanswered questions are basic for a next-generation console announcement: how many devices are being built, which ones run console and PC games, whether physical games remain supported, and when any of them will be sold. The only firm milestone so far is developer hardware in 2027; the consumer lineup remains undisclosed.