Xbox confirms ‘Project Helix’, a next-generation console that will also play PC games.

Last summer, Ars argued that Microsoft’s next Xbox system should abandon the walled garden strategy and simply run Windows. Asha Sharma, Microsoft’s newly appointed Executive Vice President for Gaming, has firmly implied that this is the route Microsoft is taking, stating that its next-generation system will “play your Xbox and PC games.”

In a social media post Thursday afternoon, Sharma stated that “our commitment to the return of Xbox” would include a new console dubbed Project Helix, which “will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games.” Sharma stated that she will discuss that commitment and the console itself with developers and partners during her first Game Developers Conference next week.

Sharma’s statement allows for Project Helix to be more than just a Windows-based living room gaming machine. The next console’s access to PC games could be confined to Microsoft’s existing streaming solution, such as PC Game Pass, or to games created with Microsoft’s own Xbox-branded PC SDK and the PC Xbox app.

Still, a basic interpretation of Sharma’s comments suggests that Microsoft is preparing to open up its next console to a full Windows installation, allowing it to play tens of thousands of existing PC games. That isn’t entirely surprising given that Microsoft already utilised the Xbox name for last year’s Windows-based ROG Xbox Ally (and its rather console-esque full-screen “Xbox Experience”). Microsoft has also gradually reduced the number of games that are completely exclusive to Xbox platforms, diminishing the value of a closed-off console platform. Meanwhile, Valve’s upcoming Steam Machine threatens to bring Windows-free PC gaming to living rooms worldwide in the near future.

There have also been rumours of a Windows-based Xbox system for quite some time. Last October, Windows Central revealed that Microsoft’s next console will run a TV-optimised version of “full-bore Windows,” with the option to remain within a separate “Xbox ecosystem” if gamers so desired. Earlier this month, the site suggested that the console might be released next year in a variety of price/power tiers.

The devil, as always, will be in the details. How well will living room players be able to manage games across various PC launchers and store platforms? How well can the console convert games created specifically for a keyboard and mouse to a living room environment? How readily will it play games created for previous versions of Windows (as well as earlier Xbox consoles)?

We’ll keep an eye out for these kinds of information when they surely emerge in the months leading up to Project Helix’s official launch. For the time being, however, we have the greatest indication that Microsoft intends to permanently combine its Xbox and Windows game platforms.

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