Microsoft reportedly expects its next Xbox to cost $1,200 to $1,800 unless it eats some of the cost, with a new handheld arriving a year earlier.
Microsoft's next Xbox could be its most expensive console ever. A Fortune report says internal projections put Project Helix at $1,200 to $1,800, unless Microsoft decides to cover part of the cost itself.
The report also says a new Xbox handheld is planned for holiday 2027, with the Helix console following in holiday 2028. Microsoft hasn't confirmed any of it, and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma says memory costs, driven up by the AI boom, will affect both price and supply.
If you're waiting for the next Xbox, there's no rush: it's more than two years away, and the final price may look very different by then.
The next Xbox could cost more than twice as much as the one on shelves today. Microsoft’s internal projections put the price of its next-generation console, Project Helix, at between $1,200 and $1,800 unless the company chooses to subsidize it, according to a Fortune report on Xbox’s new leadership.
For anyone who games on a console, that number is a jolt. It is roughly double what today’s flagship machines cost, and it lands at a time when players are already paying more for hardware, games and subscriptions. The report also lays out when the next Xbox devices might arrive, and how Game Pass could change in the meantime.
The $1,200 to $1,800 range is what Microsoft currently expects Project Helix would cost shoppers if it sold the console without a subsidy, meaning without absorbing part of the cost itself. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma did not give those figures herself. They appear in the report as Microsoft’s internal estimate.
That caveat matters. Console makers have long sold hardware at a loss and made the money back on games and subscriptions. Back in 2021, Microsoft conceded that each Xbox it sold had lost money for years. If it does that again, the final price could come in well below the projection. If it doesn’t, players could end up paying close to the full cost of building the machine.
Microsoft has not confirmed any price, release date or specifications for Project Helix.
The report says Microsoft is planning a next-generation Xbox handheld for the 2027 holiday season, a full year before the Project Helix console arrives in the 2028 holidays.
A few things about that handheld are still unclear:
Sharma herself has been careful about dates. Speaking about the console, she said memory costs “will impact pricing, will impact availability,” and that Microsoft isn’t ready to share a launch timeline. Development kits are expected to reach game makers in 2027.
The main culprit is memory. The AI boom has sent demand for memory chips soaring, which has pushed up prices across consumer electronics, from phones to PCs to handhelds. Even companies with tight control over their supply chains have raised prices.
You can already see it in current consoles after price hikes earlier this year:
Sony faces the same problem. Early projections suggest the PlayStation 6 could cost more than $1,000, and Sony has said it doesn’t intend to sell hardware at significant losses. Some analysts think both companies could delay their next consoles and wait for memory prices to fall.
The report also points to a big shake-up for Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft is reportedly looking at letting subscribers pick separate add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming and online multiplayer, rather than buying one fixed bundle.
That could make Game Pass cheaper for people who only want one thing, such as cloud gaming on a TV. What isn’t clear is how new day-one releases would fit in or what the overall price would be. Earlier rumors also pointed to tiers with or without ads, similar to streaming services.
Sharma has already reversed course once. After admitting internally that Game Pass had become too expensive, she brought prices back down and dropped future Call of Duty games from day-one Game Pass access. The report says more Xbox layoffs are also planned for this month, November and January, though those plans could change.
If you’re waiting for a new Xbox, you have time. The console isn’t expected until late 2028, more than two years away, and the price could change a lot by then, depending on memory costs and how much Microsoft is willing to subsidize.
Microsoft hasn’t announced a price. A Fortune report says internal projections range from $1,200 to $1,800 without a subsidy.
The report points to the 2028 holiday season for the Project Helix console and holiday 2027 for a new handheld. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed either date.
Yes, Microsoft has said the hardware is designed to play both Xbox and PC games.
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