Xbox has revealed the codename of its next console, with a short social media teaser setting the internet ablaze (figuratively speaking).
The current range of Xbox home console hardware, the Xbox Series and the Xbox Series S, launched back in 2020, so it does feel like the right sort of time to be dropping a new range (component shortages be damned).
Equally, this makes sense as a time for Xbox to make a big announcement. It was recently announced that Xbox has a new CEO, with Asha Sharma taking the reins from Phil Spencer and vowing to bring about the “return of Xbox”. Clearly, she’s not wasting any time forging ahead with these plans!
So, let’s get to the teaser that has dropped on the official Xbox social media channels. You can take a look yourself at the post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The caption says, simply, “The next generation of Xbox console: Project Helix”.
The video itself shows the words “Project Helix” in white text, appearing on a black background, along with a new more curved version of the Xbox logo.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said in a follow-up post, “Great start to the morning with Team Xbox, where we talked about our commitment to the return of Xbox including Project Helix, the code name for our next generation console.
“Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games. Looking forward to chatting about this more with partners and studios at my first GDC next week!”
No release date has been confirmed for Project Helix, we don’t know how much it will cost, and we don’t know what specs it will have.
The fact it will play PC games is certainly an interesting wrinkle. Only time will tell if it will feature the Steam storefront, in line with some of the rumours that have been going around.
We’d hope to hear more when the Game Developers Conference (GDC) kicks off in California next week. It starts on 9 March, if you were wondering.
When Sharma was announced the other week as the new Xbox CEO, she said on the Microsoft blog, “We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are.
“It connects us to the players and fans who invest in Xbox, and to the developers who build ambitious experiences for it.”
This is a developing story. As soon as we know more about Xbox Project Helix, including whether that’s the actual final name of the console, we’ll be sure to update this page.
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