Project Helix: All Confirmed Information

Over the last two months, there have been plenty of speculations about the next Xbox console from Microsoft. Earlier rumors suggested it will be a mix of console and PC with Windows 11 built-in, priced around $1000, and a semi-custom AMD system-on-a-chip. As practice has shown, so far some rumors have turned out to be true, as last week the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Asha Sharma, announced a new Xbox console—Project Helix—and the first official details were revealed during yesterday’s Game Developers Conference. Here you can learn anything we know so far about Microsoft’s next-gen product, Project Helix.

Project Helix Latest Updates

As mentioned above, during yesterday's Game Developers Conference, the Vice President of Next Generation, Jason Ronald, unveiled the first details about the next Xbox device. He confirmed previous rumors that Project Helix will have an upgraded and custom AMD chip, which will include enhanced frame generation technology and “deliver an order of magnitude leap in ray tracing performance and capability, integrate intelligence directly into the graphics and compute pipeline, and drive meaningful gains in efficiency, scale, and visual ambition.”

When Is Project Helix's Release Date?

During his speech at the Game Developers Conference, Jason Ronaldo also shared an update on the launch of Project Helix. Unfortunately, he didn’t mention the exact release date of Project Helix; he revealed Microsoft is eyeing shipping the alpha version of their new console to developers in early 2027. According to previous rumors, the company is looking to fully launch the next-gen Xbox console in the same year, but right now it’s hard to predict whether it will be released.

What Will the Project Helix Price Be?

At this point, there is no official information about the price of Project Helix. However, Xbox insider Moore’s Law Is Dead provided some updates after the announcement of Microsoft’s next-gen console during his stream on YouTube, where he revealed the price of Project Helix will reportedly be around $1000-1200. The official confirmation from Microsoft is still yet to be announced, so this report, for now, should be considered with a grain of salt.

Is Project Helix Console?

As previous rumors suggested, Project Helix is basically a hybrid of PC and console, which is now being confirmed by the Vice President of Next Generation, Jason Ronald. According to him, Microsoft is “breaking down the barriers between console and PC games for more seamless cross-device play,” and the Xbox experience will be available across all platforms. So, Project Helix is technically a console and PC at the same time.

It was also previously revealed the new Xbox console will also include multiple storefronts, such as Xbox Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store, and ports to PlayStation and Switch 2 remain possible. At this time, there is no confirmation from the Xbox team about this, but considering the closeness between console and PC with Project Helix, it looks very likely to happen.

Project Helix Specifications

As mentioned above, Jason Ronald has unveiled some information about the specifications of Project Helix. More details of the custom AMD system-on-a-chip, AMD FSR, and Deep Texture Compression characteristics you can check out below:

Powered by Custom AMD SOC:

• Co-designed for Next Generation of DirectX;
• Next Gen Raytracing Performance & Capabilities
• GPU Direct Work Graph Execution

AMD FSR Next & Project Helix:

• Built for Next Generation of Neural Rendering
• Next Generation ML Upscaling
• New ML Multi-Frame Generation
• Next Gen Ray Regeneration for RT and Path Tracing

Deep Texture Compression:

• Neural Texture Compression
• DirectStorage & Zstd;

According to unofficial information previously revealed by an insider, Project Helix’s processor has 30% more compute units than the Xbox Series X has, which makes each unit 65% faster. The console is also reportedly set to feature more than a 120 FPS cap, and considering the hardware, it might be possible for Microsoft to fulfill their ambitions.

What Games Will Be Playable On Project Helix?

Project Helix is confirmed to be a hybrid of PC and console, and that means the newest device will have a backwards compatibility program. Moreover, it’s been revealed by reliable gaming insider NateTheHate that Microsoft is working to bring the OG Xbox and Xbox 360 digital libraries available to play on PC. That means titles such as Saints Row, the Gears of War game series, Dante’s Inferno, Fable 2, and more might be available on PC soon. In addition, the vice president of Next Generation, Jason Ronald, confirmed at GDC that these upcoming titles will be available on Project Helix (including more upcoming Microsoft games and those who have the backward compatibility program available on Xbox Series X/S):

• Halo (old and upcoming new games);
• Gears of War (old and upcoming new games);
• Mixtape;
• Crimson Desert;
• New Fable video game;
• Cyberpunk 2077;
• The Elder Scrolls VI;
• Forza Horizon 6;
• Black Myth: Wukong;

It seems like Project Helix is going to bring a massive library to many video games available for playing on PC, and more importantly, those that were not available to play before. This is definitely a big prospect that could make the gamers excited. Also, it will bring already exciting games available, like the above-mentioned Cyberpunk 2077 or Black Myth: Wukong, with a better resolution and smoother frame rate, which could make playing on Project Helix the best gaming experience.

Will Project Helix Be Better Than Other Consoles?

Considering confirmed and unconfirmed information, the next-gen Xbox console, Project Helix, is a pretty powerful device. But is it better than other upcoming consoles like Sony’s PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 6 or Valve’s Steam Machine?

Speaking of PlayStation 5, there is no doubt because it’s literally a different generation of consoles. We don’t know much yet about the specifications of PlayStation 6, but according to Moore’s Law is Dead, which also provided information about the hardware of Project Helix, Sony’s next-gen console will allow running the games with 4K resolution and 120 FPS and will be 3-6x more powerful in terms of using ray tracing performance than PlayStation 5 Pro. A more recent report revealed PlayStation 6 will also support PS5 games but with lower resolution and frame rates due to “limited memory bandwidth,” making its performance somewhere between Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, which is… not great.

Speaking of Steam Machine, as mentioned above, at the above-mentioned GDC, Valve confirmed the device will run games at 1080p with 30 FPS, and not all gamers liked it. Steam Machine is also confirmed to have a powerful semi-custom AMD Zen 4.6 core/12 thread CPU, RDNA 3 GPU, and 16 GB of RAM, which make it a solid device for gaming. Moreover, Valve’s newest installment is reportedly much cheaper than Project Helix, with $699 mentioned as its price.

Against the drop of everything, Project Helix may not look like the most powerful console for gaming, but according to the information we know about its specifications, it definitely can be worth its price and may be the ideal platform for gaming in the future years.

Are you excited for Project Helix? Share your thoughts in the comments below!