Microsoft reportedly plans Xbox handheld for 2027 and next-gen console for 2028
Microsoft reportedly plans an Xbox handheld for 2027 and a next-gen console for 2028, while more layoffs are expected.
The Fortune report does not make clear whether the handheld would be made by a manufacturer such as Asus or by Microsoft itself, The Verge reported. Xbox worked with Asus on its Xbox Ally devices, which ran a modified version of Windows 11 with an Xbox mode enabled. Sharma has described Project Helix as a “family of devices,” a description that suggests the next Xbox console may not be a single piece of hardware.
Microsoft and AMD announced last year a “strategic multi-year partnership” to work on “a portfolio of devices,” including Microsoft’s next-generation console. The Verge reported that it seems increasingly likely the partnership will include a range of Xbox devices running on AMD’s new chips.
The regular next-generation Xbox console may not arrive until 2028. Fortune reported that Microsoft is currently projecting that the Project Helix console may cost consumers “between $1,200 to $1,800” unless Microsoft is willing to subsidize the hardware.
Microsoft’s Windows and Xbox teams have also reportedly clashed over what software will power the next-gen Xbox, according to the report. The Verge noted that the two teams have clashed multiple times over the past 25 years of Xbox. The report says Xbox is now controlling the direction of the software on Helix.
The report also addresses rumored changes to Xbox Game Pass. Last month, rumors emerged that Microsoft was working on an overhaul that would create tiers with or without ads, similar to Netflix and other streaming services. Fortune says Xbox is looking at add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming and multiplayer. That would make Game Pass more flexible, but it is not clear what would happen to day-one games or the price of Game Pass.
One of Sharma’s first big moves as Xbox CEO was reversing Game Pass price increases after she admitted internally that “Game Pass has become too expensive for players,” The Verge reported. Xbox dropped future Call of Duty titles from day one on Game Pass and brought prices back down for its subscription service.
The layoffs follow a July organizational “reset” in which Sharma announced planned cuts affecting 3,200 staffers over Microsoft’s 2027 fiscal year, including 1,600 cuts at that time. Microsoft laid off around 260 employees in September. Sharma’s changes have also included letting Double Fine and Compulsion Games become independent again, though Senua developer Ninja Theory may close, according to the report.
Fortune’s report also touched on speculation that Xbox may be spun off or sold. Judson Althoff, the CEO of Microsoft’s commercial business, appeared to downplay the idea. “Asha is one of the best leaders we have at the whole company,” Althoff told Fortune. “We would not have put her on a business we intend to sell. There’s going to be a ton of speculation about all this. Time will tell.”