Xbox is building more than one next-generation console. That is what Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said in a new interview at gamescom 2026, clarifying a project she had announced shortly after taking the top job at the company.
When Sharma first became CEO, she introduced Project Helix as the code name for Xbox's next-generation console. The word console, singular, was what most observers took from that announcement. At gamescom, speaking with BBC News, she used different language. Xbox has been working on a "great family of devices" for Helix, she said, suggesting that more than one product is in development.
According to a report by Engadget, Sharma did not provide details about how many devices are in the lineup or what distinguishes them from one another. She did say that Xbox will share more information soon and that the company will "continue to push the boundaries of performance."
She also repeated a commitment she had made earlier, that Helix will be capable of playing both console games and PC games. It is not yet clear whether all devices in the Helix family will have that capability or only some of them.
The PC and console compatibility statement came in response to a question about whether the next Xbox would be a discless device. Sharma did not answer that question directly. The question carries some weight given that Sony announced last month that the PlayStation will go fully digital and will stop making disc-based games by 2028. Whether Xbox plans to follow a similar path remains unclear.
What is known is that Xbox plans to ship alpha versions of the Helix hardware to developers starting next year. That timeline gives developers time to build and test games before any consumer release, though Xbox has not announced when the devices would go on sale to the public.
The Helix announcement is the most concrete signal yet that Microsoft is preparing a significant hardware push after a period in which Xbox leaned heavily into software, subscriptions, and cloud gaming. The move to a family of devices, rather than a single console, could indicate that Xbox intends to compete across different price points or use cases, though Sharma did not say so directly.
No pricing, no release window, and no device names beyond the Project Helix code name have been made public. The next scheduled opportunity for more detail may come as developer shipping begins in 2027.
