Gone are the days of affordable consoles. Next on the kill list are today’s moderately expensive consoles, likely pushing the entire market squarely into luxury territory. Xbox’s next console effort, ‘Project Helix,’ will likely be the first to take that plunge, with one report claiming that the console could cost as much as R30,000 ($1,800).
We’ll stick with the Xbox Series X, thanks
That estimate’s on the higher end, to be fair. In a profile concerning new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, courtesy of Fortune, the outlet hints at the company gearing up for the release of a “next-generation handheld device” by the end of 2027. That’ll be followed up by Project Helix “by the holidays of 2028”, expected to cost anywhere between $1,200-$1,800 internally. That places the console on a crash course in the range of R20,000-R30,000 in SA.
That’s still a truly bonkers number, even by today’s standards. But it’s also accurate. Rising component costs (whether manufactured or not) are sending consumer prices rocketing everywhere. Gaming consoles are just one of the biggest casualties. Look at Valve’s Steam Machine, which launched at $1,050 this year.
Fortune’s report also remarks on internal clashes at Xbox over whether the Helix console should ship with Windows. One Windows exec wanted the upcoming handheld console to use a “trimmed-down version of Windows Home,” while the Xbox team “sought to build and control its own software…” The team is reportedly so against the idea of employing a Windows build that one Xbox exec threatened to scrap the entire handheld.
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“Xbox is now largely controlling the direction of the operating system for the project, though Sharma emphasized the two still collaborate closely, saying, ‘We can’t build Helix on our own.'”
With at least two years ahead of us before Project Helix hits shelves, plans can change. If anything, estimates could slip into the $2,000 (∼R32,800) range by the time Microsoft is ready to start assembling the thing.
Also on the menu is an overhaul of Xbox Game Pass, with Fortune reporting a model that would “have players choose features à la carte, including add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming, and multiplayer, with the system operating on a tiered structure.” It’s unclear whether the overhaul would arrive alongside the new console.
