Eighteen hundred dollars. For a console. Microsoft's own internal estimates for the next-gen Xbox — codename Project Helix — landed between $1,200 and $1,800, and that's before any subsidy makes it look cheaper. Fortune got the numbers. My wallet got the flashback.
Fortune's new profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma reports internal price estimates of $1,200–$1,800 for Helix — what Xbox expects consumers to pay, unsubsidized.
The wildest detail isn't even the price. It's that Helix is two devices: a handheld targeted for holiday 2027, and the big under-the-TV box for holiday 2028. Yes, the handheld ships first.
The Helix box is envisioned as a bridge between PC and Xbox, capable of playing games from both platforms.
Some perspective on that sticker: the Series X launched at $500 and now costs $800 thanks to the AI memory shortage. Helix starting at $1,200 would be a fifty percent jump on top of an already-jacked price. And the drama behind the scenes? Windows and Xbox teams fought so hard over the handheld's operating system that one exec threatened to kill the whole project. Family reunion's gonna be fun.
Today's episode breaks the whole leak down in under a minute — watch it below.
Source: Eurogamer.net