Microsoft Gaming has revealed new details about its recently announced next-generation console, Project Helix, at the Game Developers Conference 2026. The company stated that it plans to ship Alpha test kits of the consoles to developers in 2027. Additionally, according to a recent Xbox Wire post, Xbox vice president of next generation Jason Ronald wrote that Project Helix is designed to “play your Xbox console and PC games.” The console will also be “powered by a custom AMD [system on chip] and co-designed for the next generation of DirectX and FidelityFX Super Resolution,” and it “delivers an order of magnitude leap in ray tracing performance and capability.”
The article also revealed that Microsoft Gaming plans to bring Xbox Mode to Windows 11 in April, starting with select regions. An early version of the mode can be seen on the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds. Xbox Mode lets players “seamlessly switch between productivity and play, with a familiar full-screen and controller-optimized Xbox experience while embracing the openness of Windows.” Finally, Ronald revealed that as part of Xbox’s 25th anniversary in 2026, Xbox will be “rolling out new ways to play some of the most iconic games from our past.” Additional details have yet to be revealed on what those new ways will be.
