Microsoft has fired a salvo to signal the imminent arrival of the next generation of consoles by unveiling the next-gen Xbox console’s codename: Project Helix.
A console generation lasts about 5-7 years. The current generation of consoles, the 9th generation, began in late 2020 with the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. So now’s the time for console makers to start publicly talk about their plans for the next generation.
Xbox simply posted a motion graphic of the placeholder name.
Meanwhile, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirms what we expected: it will “play your Xbox and PC games.”
This is one of the first notable move by Xbox under their new CEO. Longtime Xbox head and later Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has retired effective February 23, while Xbox President Sarah Bond unexpectedly leaves the company around the same time.
Last year’s “This is an Xbox” ad campaign the creation of the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X have bring new criticism to Xbox’s flawed ecosystem. In short, Xbox console games and PC games are not interoperable with all systems designated as an Xbox. You can’t play your Xbox console games on PC unless it is part of Xbox Play Anywhere (a program that entitles you to both a Xbox console copy and a Microsoft Store PC copy of the same game). The Xbox experience on PC and consoles are wildly different. Yet it’s being treated as the same thing, causing confusion.
With Xbox console’s market share is waning, it is a shrewd, and much-requested, move to just turn the Xbox into effectively a PC. So Project Helix being revealed to be more or less that is a strong first step for the next-gen Xbox.
Xbox will talking more about Project Helix with developers and partners at GDC. So this is still early days for the imminent 10th generation of consoles.