Next Xbox Console: Everything We Know So Far About Microsoft's Next-Gen System

The pricing of the console will be key!
Also if this is the only version they are making for next gen I wouldn't mind a cheaper version with just the Xbox store or less power like the series s this gen.

@fraserG Unless I'm mistaken, here’s what you forgot to mention — things that are either confirmed or come from Jez Corden’s statements:

• Regarding the logo, you could say it looks a bit like a strand of DNA, which echoes Asha Sharma’s comments about returning to the brand’s roots — returning to the brand’s DNA.
• The system boots directly into a full Xbox console interface, with the Windows mode being completely optional.
• Automatic game optimization (default game profiles, currently on the XFE roadmap).
• A premium first‑party version, and cheaper OEM versions.
• Regarding price, we could also say that an equivalent gaming PC would cost much more. Microsoft can subsidize the hardware, negotiate prices with AMD, and optimize production costs, knowing they’ve already secured a major RAM supply deal with SK Hynix. A comparable PC simply can’t match the performance‑per‑dollar ratio.
• We can also mention the upcoming Sebile controller.
• The next Xbox will have upgradeable modules, specifically for the SSD and the RAM, maybe other components

Going further, we could also say that:

The next Xbox will use a hybrid SoC with dedicated gaming hardware blocks, including an NPU, enabling things like native hardware‑level backward compatibility and a gaming‑optimized memory architecture (not possible on a PC). With the next Xbox, the configuration will be fully controlled, with direct access to the hardware, everything calibrated for a single SoC, and games optimized directly at the hardware level. A standard PC cannot have these specialized hardware blocks because Windows has to run on thousands of different configurations.

The advantage of standardized hardware is fewer bugs, no drivers to manage yourself, and a closed, reliable environment.

I'm quite afraid of this direction.

Imagine a hypothetical scenario in which Xbox closes its platform, no longer wants to continue in that business, and becomes a third party. As an Xbox user, you buy a PC and connect it to your TV. You have no other choice. You download Steam and start playing there. Xbox is dead. It makes you sad, so to console yourself, you put an Xbox sticker on your PC.

I'm afraid we're heading in that direction, but by a different route. If they add Steam, no developer will bring their games to the Xbox Store, and if that happens, Xbox as a platform will be dead, but hey, it says Xbox on the box.

I don't know what they're creating, but adding Steam is extremely dangerous for the Xbox platform. I hope they've really thought this through and know what they're doing.

This direction is msft exiting the console wars. Xbox exclusives are gone, but dev costs are going to be lower since they dont need to port to xbox. Itll be interchangeable with any pc which is good or bad depending on your view.

I imagine we will see this come in at $1500-$2000 as well, given the xbox ally x was 1100 and will likely be going up.

My gut is telling me given all the language used by msft that they are leaving the mass market and going for pc plus premium markets. Pc(software sales) will cover majority revenue while the device will be focused on the niche group not covered by nintendo or sony.

After everything is a XBOX, XBOX is no longer a XBOX it's a PC. Good thing for the devs no more porting just a set of instructions to maximize the performance on Xbox machine, but I think it's the death of the XBOX brand. I think it will not even have XBOX in it's final name. PCBOX, MSGBOX, who knows .

This is not a PC, but a backwards compatible console that runs Xbox and PC games. Don't forget that Windows has been running on Xbox since Xbox One. They should, however, make the Full Screen Experience a built-in Windows feature. Windows should and will have a gaming profile on all systems, so it will be flawless and efficient.

The PC market is the biggest and the only one growing, but Xbox won't cater to the big spenders only. Their console will be premium and expensive - I say $1000 - but it will give you more for the same money than the PC market equivalent, and you will have cheaper options in the ecosystem, even if those are manufactured by third parties like Asus. Remember, also, that games are optimised for these fixed hardware configurations. In the beginning, Cloud was an Ultimate perk, now it's included in all Game Pass tiers. It's clear that they are targeting the PC, console and mobile players and will find an audience in each segment.

In regard to the exclusives, it's not necessary for Xbox to port all their games to PS and/or Nintendo on day one. PS is a closed ecosystem with its own OS that requires the porting work and Sony's 30% commission. It's not where Microsoft will find their biggest growth nor audience, and just a couple of Xbox exclusives have found remarkable success on PS, so it will still be on a case by case basis.

Launch date? 2027 or 2028.

@Gabrie For publisher, I bet they will lower the commission that they pay to Steam. That aside, I don't know why would any publisher abandon the Xbox store, when Series X|S is the most supported Xbox console ever. The key here is Play Anywhere, and that Xbox and PC games will be the same build next generation. Publishers won't need to develop ports for the Xbox store.

I would be interested in this but you just know it's going to be riddled with Copilot nonsense.

@fatpunkslim seeing as you are so informed.

Do you know said price to know if it’s comparable to a pc, or is this just pure speculation with nothing to back it up?

Considering they aren’t even subsiding their current console and all…

As someone who plays f1 fifa and cod every year game pass didn’t make sense to me. And I guess this new console doesn’t make sense either.

Theres a few factors that will decide whether I buy one or not.

Price being the biggest factor. I am upgrading day one to a new system as I always have but if this thing is like $300-400 or more than a Playstation 6, I'm probably just going to get a Playstation 6.

If the rumors of Sony pulling back their support for PC and not committing to anymore ports of single player games, the ones I care about, then that also is something I will have to consider.

In this day and age I don't need a suped up Xbox / PC hybrid or even a PC to play PC games at their highest settings as well as taking advantage of the latest tech like DLSS 4.5 or FSR 4 thanks to streaming services like Geforce Now. What I can't play on GFN? Playstation games. Same could be true with the next Xbox and that sucks.

@Gabrie There loads of reasons why people would still buy off the Xbox store and get the bespoke console version with benefits like reward points for purchase like happens now achievements the ease and use of your Xbox profile.
I wouldn't just buy everything off steam to save a few quid!!
Especially after spending however much the console is why bother if you're buying an Xbox console you way that Xbox experience

@fatpunkslim
"you could say it looks a bit like a strand of DNA"

That's because a DNA strand is a double-helix shape.

@Globo I can see Xbox lowering the commission compared to Steam. EU loves protecting the consumers, but of course Microsoft would do it as a business strategy. It will also make a lot of sense to match Steam prices on the same system. Sales are already great on Series X|S, but they won't let Steam have the better deals on the same system. Like you said, it's just a few pounds/euros/dollars at best.

Funnily, the only thing that "worries" me about the next Xbox is the name. I prefer Magnus or Helix than One or Series.

@Banjo- Yeah it's not like it's really amazing savings 5 maybe 10 quid here and there isn't nothing.
And yeah I don't like the name either hopefully it's just a code name placeholder same with the logo I like the Xbox logo as it is haha

@Globo I'm 100% sure that they are not dropping the Xbox logo, but if the keep the Helix name, the Xbox logo morphing into the Helix logo when you boot up the console is a possibility.

@themightyant Play Anywhere is pointless since it's already just a PC lol
Foolish to think some devs just won't bother with an Xbox version because the other stores will be an option. Why bother with a low install base hardware when you can focus on hardware with a huge install base? That's the problem facing Xbox as it sits.

My only question is... As a console player for all my life, I know if buy a PS5 I can play all PS5 games, if I but a Series X I can play all Series X games, if I buy a Switch 2 I can play all Switch 2 games.
With something that goes more into PC territory I don't know when we'll reach the point when the "console" will be no longer powerful enough. How will that work?

Could multiple storefronts just mean xbox and battle.net? No 3rd part or very selective 3rd party.

Dear friend @Globo
I can not agree more.
THERE IS NO PRODUCT, WRONG PRICING CAN NOT KILL.
If (and I hope) microbe-soft orders & buys the required hardware components at large enough scale to bring the unit price down, next Xbox may sell like a hot cake.
I am ready to buy one, if price can be attactive enough.
(For example, why should I say no to 1000 $ price tag, if the components inside costs more than 2500 $ when I buy them myself from the market, seperately?)
100% PC compatible, very strong console with a good value price tag, is what market needs more than ever.
Valve, Sony, Microbe-soft or anybody else... Who ever manage to come up with that freat solution, gets the price.

I'm ok with this console.

But the moment I hear you "can add hardware, graphics cards, memorize, sound cards", I'm IMMEDIATELY out. Will stress again, IMMEDIATELY out.

It is the very reason I quit pc gaming 30 years ago. Never looked back. Never been happier. Console all the way, the only way.

The $1000 console not growing the market attributed to Phil, was taken out of context. He was talking about a Pro version that only provided incremental benefits. When you consider that the Helix/Magnus is not incremental, the $1000 comment is no longer applicable. When you also consider Phil made that statement before massive hardware price inflation it should be obvious Helix is a premium product that is going to be the most expensive Xbox by a long shot & it won't be less than $1000.

Announcing really to put people off the Steam PC, eg hold onto your money and get this instead?
Assuming Steam and Epic compatible of course

$899 USD MINIMUM.

@themightyant Only like 100k people own a Rog Ally......When have any of Microsoft's risks for Xbox panned out?

If i can play my series x games easily, i can think about it.

I think it's time to stop calling it a console.
It's a Xbox PC.

So it's a hybrid console, in a way...

@Exerion76
It really doesn't matter. Both XB and PS gaming consoles have been PCs from a hardware perspective for three generations now. The real key here is how well they deliver the console experience on the device.

@Fiendish-Beaver They could add on those incentives for next gen aswell and the added benefit of achievements for the hunters and the just ease of use.
The Xbox store wouldn't die in it's current form I got 8 quid of reward points for buying high on life 2 thats decent to me anyways.

Good God, please don't let that be the final logo.

@Fiendish-Beaver Well for me it's euro so it's a bit less than that about 8000 every thousand is about a euro for now anyways haha.
Maybe it's to do with the region you are in I've always gotten reward points back for purchases for the last while but that 8000 was the most I got back by far I was surprised myself haha

Why do they keep calling it a console if it's actually a PC?

Greater than $649 you say? That's uh... a very generous assessment. If the top tier console is anything less than $1200+, I'll eat my hat. And feel free to come back and remind me when it's announced.

Lower tiers might break under $1000, but I wouldn't hold my breath for even that.

$649 or anything in that ballpark is absolutely off the table if this thing does half of what they are portraying.

It will be obscenely expensive, and yet still a good deal compared to building your own PC with similar specs. Just like the PS3 was a great deal at $600 because comparable blu-ray players were selling for a grand at that time. We saw how that turned out.

@Runex2121

I agree, this seems like Microsoft finally giving up and seeking greener (no pun intended) pastures among the PC faithful - which, granted, is a huge blindspot for both Sony and Nintendo.

Key point is people who pay $2000+ for PCs are very far removed from people who bought a Series S for 300 bucks in the vast, vast majority of cases. I think they are officially moving on.

Smart? Desperate? I don't really know. Let's see how it goes!

@Fiendish-Beaver I didn't even realise I taught it was a bit higher than I got before because I've spent more than that in one go and not got as much myself.
I got it day one aswell maybe that has something to do with it??

@UnlimitedSevens

Except @Banjo- , he will sell his firstborn no doubt.

LOL Then you don't know me at all.

@themightyant

Yeah well to be fair there is still so much we don't know. I hope this is successful for Xbox and they find a user base for this.

I don't think the strategy is ideal if what we suspect comes to pass, but I agree with you it's the best shot they've got left.

Plus, a premium model with less customers isn't inherently a bad thing - if they get enough people to sign on. Fingers crossed. Not sure who would or could replace Xbox if they went full publisher.

@UnlimitedSevens You are mistaken. I don't even read nor post every month. I haven't seen you outside Push Square before, I wonder why and if that is related to your hostility 🤔.

@Fiendish-Beaver 7039 reward points was the actual amount I just checked there ha!

@Gemini53 Glad you can come here dude since push square is a bit mental!
I know what you're saying about that site and some of the articles written don't help either there's a narrative to follow there if you don't follow your despised.
The black adder references always go down well with me aswell so that helps haha 😂

@Gemini53 Yeah I've had some bad experiences over there aswell it's a bit more relaxed here you don't come back to 5 notifications of people having a go if you say something not necessarily popular.
And yeah I watched them too I particularly like black adder I remember being very small and seeing the end credits of the Victorian one where he's dancing around the fountain it's one of those proper early memories.
Red dwarf was very good aswell I loved Rimmer and how dry he is haha

@Gemini53 @Globo Thanks 😉. So back to things not discussed much yet, I like the name Magnus, but they made a logo for Helix, so will it be Xbox Helix? It will likely lack a disc drive, but will an add-on be available separately like PS5 Pro? I don't care much about the later because I only keep a couple of physical Xbox games, but the name intrigues me.

@Banjo- I haven't used my disc drive on my series X ever so I wouldn't miss not having it to be honest but they still should make it so you can purchase one separately from the console for people who do still buy physical.
Hopefully they change the logo I'm not a big fan but the name is ok definitely better than series s/x or Xbox one haha.
I wonder if we will get another series s type console next gen or if it's just the single version we will get??
I think the pricing will obviously make or break how the console launches I won't be paying over a grand for it no way!
They must have a couple games aswell in the works to launch with the console it will be interesting what first party titles there is day one on the console

@Banjo-

We've talked on here going back years Banjo. But it's okay, my memory is going too.

@themightyant Reason why Series X didn't sell was because it lacked exclusive games.
2021 was their biggest and best selling year in Xbox history and no real surprise it came because Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 released back to back to end the year. 2020 launched with 0 exclusives.
2022 had 0 exclusives.
2023 had 2 exclusives.
2024 we heard games were going to PS5.

So, we never got a full Xbox experience with exclusive games on a consistent basis.