Asha lot of money.
The price of Xbox's next generation console, codename Project Helix, may be higher than many of us expected. Helix, which is reportedly going to ship as two devices, is estimated to cost close to $2,000.
That's according to a wide-ranging new report and profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma by Fortune Magazine. In it, it's claimed Xbox's internal estimates have arrived at a staggering price: between $1,200 (~£900) and $1,800 (~£1,345). This is not simply the cost of components and manufacturing, it's the price Xbox reportedly expects the console to cost consumers, assuming it is not subsidised.
The report also revealed that Helix, which Sharma previously stressed is a family of devices, will indeed encompass two consoles: a traditional box and a handheld. Xbox is reportedly planning to release the handheld Helix first, with the current target being holiday 2027. The main, under-the-tv box Helix is instead planned for holiday 2028.
As shocking as these prices may be, they're not entirely out of line with what industry insiders have been saying we should expect. The global AI-driven memory and storage shortage has caused prices of practically all consumer electronics to shoot up significantly. The shortages also resulted in Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo all raising prices of their years-old current-gen consoles on multiple occasions since their launches.
The flagship Xbox Series X, which launched at $500 / £450, now costs $800 / £670. The Series S, initially pitched as a budget-friendly, entry level console now costs $500 / £430, up from $300 / £250. A Helix console at $1,200 would mean a 50 percent increase on top of Series X's current price.
The report also revealed an internal divide between the Xbox and Windows teams over which operating system handheld Helix should run. Microsoft's Windows team reportedly wanted a slimmed down version of Windows Home to run on the handheld, whereas the Xbox team instead wanted specialised software to maximise gaming performance.
The disagreements reportedly got so bad that an Xbox executive threatened to end the handheld project entirely. It's not clear what the big-box Helix is going to run, however, seeing as it was envisioned as a bridge between PC and Xbox capable of playing games from both platforms.
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