Coming up to the sixth year of the Xbox Series consoles, the Xbox Twitter account has today shared the codename for their next generation console: Project Helix. Outside of a small teaser animation, little was shared from the official account, with the more interesting details being shared by the new Xbox CEO Asha Shar.

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The most interesting point here is the fact this system will be capable of playing both Xbox and PC titles, further blurring the lines between modern consoles and PC hardware. This decision appears to mark a distinct split in strategy between Xbox and Sony, with Sony appearing to be moving away from the PC market. With PC parts getting more expensive, would a console capable of playing your PC library be enough to tempt you into the next generation of Xbox hardware?

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[Vixi]

So, it's just a pc with xbox branding, got it. Might as well just stop making xbox games and make them all for pc only

I think that might be the point.

 

[thebigC]

i am curious to see whether it will lean more into being a console, like having a disk drive, longer hardware life cycle, and locked down software, or lean more into being a pc, like being all digital, more hardware iterations and possibly being upgradable, and more open software. if i were to guess it would lean into being more of a console just because i dont think microsoft is interested in competing head on with valve

 

[LightyKD]

Watch this just be a PC

In other words, the end of the xbox

Wouldn't exactly be a bad thing. Just take the ROG XBox Ally idea and stick it in a box.

 

[Marc_LFD]

It sounds like a desktop PC branded as Xbox. If you want that, there's plenty like it.

 

[PatrickD85]

Well wel well ...
Going to play pc games and support marketplaces like Steam.

Not sure how to take this..
Is this Xbox more or less bowing out, or saying ... we have somewhat of a console/pc/whatever and we'll publish for that.
Im torn on this really, as well I still love Game Pass as a concept but a console is always an as-is system (to a normal extent), unlike a pc ... so saying steam support is nice but, how will that play out when the helix hardware gets a bit outdated.

In short; they are not making it more console like; where it is you are this you play this.
It's more of a; well it allll depends. Sighh.

 

[bonkmaykr]

If I had a nickel for every time Microsoft just copied what everyone else was doing the second they lose a tiny bit of marketshare, no matter how poorly they understand why the competition is winning, because owning Windows just entitles them to shit

 

[Skv0ra]

Bringing PeeCee games to EksBauks they say? Like what exactly? LOL Or if it's their way of saying they'll add MKB support, then RIP all FPS players who learned to play on the pacifiers.

Live Arcade port of Guardian Heroes is honestly the only real exclusive M$ had on the box for almost 2 decades, so just bring that to PC and limit it to their store or something.

Post automatically merged: Mar 8, 2026

Well wel well ...
Going to play pc games and support marketplaces like Steam.

Well, let me logically stop ya right there, because there's 0% chance it won't be locked to M$ store only.

 

[Xzi]

I think that might be the point.

Pretty much, it's their way of bowing out gracefully instead of pissing off the few hardcore Xbox fans left by saying, "we're just done making consoles." In terms of hardware it'll be more like a mid-gen refresh, and the price will still be over a thousand dollars given the current component market. When it inevitably sells poorly, they can use that as an excuse to finish shifting entirely into a multi-platform publisher role.

 

[Bladexdsl]

Well, let me logically stop ya right there, because there's 0% chance it won't be locked to M$ store only.

exactly better off with the steam box + emulation and kodi it's a win win

 

[Vixi]

Well, let me logically stop ya right there, because there's 0% chance it won't be locked to M$ store only.

Yeah, it would be an odd business choice to let people buy an Xbox just for Valve to take a 30% cut of game sales.
Locking it to the MS store ecosystem encourages people to stick to Windows on their PC and PC devs to publish on the MS store to capture Xbox gamers (They don't have to make a separate port which is a win-win for the devs and Xbox gamers who have been missing out on games that skip an Xbox port).

 

[Kioku]

Wouldn't exactly be a bad thing. Just take the ROG XBox Ally idea and stick it in a box.

Removing one competitor from an area where there's only 3 is, honestly, a bad thing. I used to beg for software parity, but I've got a feeling that this choice will only serve the business and further hurt the consumer.

 

[LightyKD]

Removing one competitor from an area where there's only 3 is, honestly, a bad thing. I used to beg for software parity, but I've got a feeling that this choice will only serve the business and further hurt the consumer.

There are 4 players in this game. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and YES, Valve. The moment the Steam Deck was released, Valve officially entered the ring. We have plenty of competition and gamers need to drop the damn semantics of what is and is not a "console" and realize that "console experiences" are being sold not "console hardware"in the old school sense.

 

[depaul]

Brilliant move. You shouldn't have to buy games twice, for PC and for consoles.

I am a PlayStation fan but if the next gen Xbox really runs PC games, I will have no reason to buy a PS6 anymore. Sorry Sony.

 

[Xzi]

There are 4 players in this game. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and YES, Valve. The moment the Steam Deck was released, Valve officially entered the ring. We have plenty of competition and gamers need to drop the damn semantics of what is and is not a "console" and realize that "console experiences" are being sold not "console hardware"in the old school sense.

Yeah Valve muscling Xbox out of the hardware market would be a net positive for gamers, it's just a really bad time to be trying to drop new hardware in general though. Even if it's priced $300+ less than Helix, I kinda doubt Steam Machine is gonna be a big seller, at least not until years after launch when component supply stabilizes.

 

[tech3475]

Yeah Valve muscling Xbox out of the hardware market would be a net positive for gamers, it's just a really bad time to be trying to drop new hardware in general though. Even if it's priced $300+ less than Helix, I kinda doubt Steam Machine is gonna be a big seller, at least not until years after launch when component supply stabilizes.

No MS being out of the console market will be a bad thing as of now, especially as I doubt Valve will be significant competition in the console market, effectively turning it into a duopoly with Sony and Nintendo.

IMO for Valve to become more mainstream they'd need to increase their marketing, retail presence, ensure more games are compatible from the get go e.g. FC25, COD, etc. and price it like a console not a computer.

Yes it can run Windows, but if it's anything like on Steam Deck good luck with my average moronic customer (hint: RTFM isn't their strong point), let alone complaints about Windows license costs, even grey market.

Otherwise I'd expect most SM owners to be existing PC owners with maybe some kids who see their favourite streamer promote them.

 

[Xzi]

No MS being out of the console market will be a bad thing as of now, especially as I doubt Valve will be significant competition in the console market, effectively turning it into a duopoly with Sony and Nintendo.

Xbox already is no longer providing significant competition in that space. It's also really hard to get people to switch to a new ecosystem when they've been buying games from Playstation or Nintendo for several generations, but Steam is a much more enticing alternative than Microslop's latest vibe-coded offerings.

IMO for Valve to become more mainstream they'd need to increase their marketing, retail presence, ensure more games are compatible from the get go e.g. FC25, COD, etc. and price it like a console not a computer.

Increase their marketing? Indie games find more success on Steam than anywhere else, AAA publishers have the resources to run commercials on TV, Youtube, etc. For better or worse, retail is nearly dead with both Sony and Nintendo pushing for all-digital. Anti-cheat compatibility isn't in Valve's hands, but considering that even EA is moving in that direction, it's only a matter of time until the rest of the myopic publishers follow suit.

Yes it can run Windows, but if it's anything like on Steam Deck good luck with my average moronic customer (hint: RTFM isn't their strong point), let alone complaints about Windows license costs, even grey market.

Otherwise I'd expect most SM owners to be existing PC owners with maybe some kids who see their favourite streamer promote them.

The average gamer is now 30-40 years old, and SteamOS is a lot more simplified than even Windows, so that's not a big concern. It's also not like Steam needs to grow a customer base from nothing when it already has roughly 150 million active users. 20-30 million more migrating over from Xbox would just be the cherry on top.

 

[Kioku]

There are 4 players in this game. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and YES, Valve. The moment the Steam Deck was released, Valve officially entered the ring. We have plenty of competition and gamers need to drop the damn semantics of what is and is not a "console" and realize that "console experiences" are being sold not "console hardware"in the old school sense.

Valve is not a console player, sorry, but that's strictly PC gaming. It's a fact, not semantics. By your logic, an HTPC is a game console. Even moreso because I can install Valve's Linux desktop flavor. Being able to plug in a controller and boot into a full screen application doesn't make it a console.

Once Microsoft bows out, it will be Sony vs Nintendo. No amount of "what-about-ism" will change this. Valve is competing in the PC space. Albeit they're offering a cheaper, easier, alternative to a more traditional PC for now. It's still PC gaming.

 

[LightyKD]

Valve is not a console player, sorry, but that's strictly PC gaming. It's a fact, not semantics. By your logic, an HTPC is a game console. Even moreso because I can install Valve's Linux desktop flavor. It's a weak argument.

Once Microsoft bows out, it will be Sony vs Nintendo. No amount of "what-about-ism" will change this. Valve is competing in the PC space. Albeit they're offering a cheaper, easier, alternative to a more traditional PC for now. It's still PC gaming.

* Plugs Steam Deck to TV
* Turns on TV
* Deck boots into Big Picture Mode
* Play Games with a controller

Now how is any of that different than any other modern console? Steam Deck and Steam Machines are consoles. Just because they can be used as PCs doesnt stop them from being a console. A person can browse the web and type documents in the web version of Word on an XBox yet we dont go about claiming that it's a PC. Again, it's 2026 not 1996. The rules of consoles have changed.

 

[Kioku]

* Plugs Steam Deck to TV
* Turns on TV
* Deck boots into Big Picture Mode
* Play Games with a controller

Now how is any of that different than any other modern console? Steam Deck and Steam Machines are consoles. Just because they can be used as PCs doesnt stop them from being a console. A person can browse the web and type documents in the web version of Word on an XBox yet we dont go about claiming that it's a PC. Again, it's 2026 not 1996. The rules of consoles have changed.

It's a PC operating system running PC software with a PC desktop. Been able to play like this for years once Steam introduced big picture mode, even on Windows. Again, the "what-about-ism" isn't going to change the fact that Valves offerings are in the computer category, far away from consoles and their weird little war. Valve has zero platform exclusives. Sony and Nintendo still have theirs. Microsoft may have Xbox exclusives, but they're coming to Steam, a PC game platform.

Calling the Steam Deck, or even the Steam Machine a console is really selling it short. Offering a "console like" experience is still a far cry from it being a dedicated console. Especially since you can do the same thing on Windows.

The browser is completely irrelevant as we've been browsing on dedicated game consoles for a looong time.

Lastly, and this is a big deal here. Even Valve has referred to their offerings as PCs (minus the frame, but I don't know much about it). The steam machine is being advertised, on their page, as a PC. Let's just call a spade a spade.

Editing as I realize I'm being excessively snotty, and I apologize.

Going to leave it with this: Valve has not once, in the history of the company, announced themselves as a competitor in the console market. I'm not even sure they're competing in the PC market. At least, not in the traditional sense? Starting with Gen 6, it's always been the big three: Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony. The Steam Machine coming out doesn't mean that Valve is competing in the console race. They've just announced a more user-friendly approach to PC gaming. This is something they've said.

The community putting a label on it is fine, but that's all it is.

 

[Xzi]

It's a PC operating system running PC software with a PC desktop. Been able to play like this for years once Steam introduced big picture mode, even on Windows. Again, the "what-about-ism" isn't going to change the fact that Valves offerings are in the computer category, far away from consoles and their weird little war. Valve has zero platform exclusives. Sony and Nintendo still have theirs. Microsoft may have Xbox exclusives, but they're coming to Steam, a PC game platform.

Calling the Steam Deck, or even the Steam Machine a console is really selling it short. Offering a "console like" experience is still a far cry from it being a dedicated console. Especially since you can do the same thing on Windows.

The browser is completely irrelevant as we've been browsing on dedicated game consoles for a looong time.

Lastly, and this is a big deal here. Even Valve has referred to their offerings as PCs (minus the frame, but I don't know much about it). The steam machine is being advertised, on their page, as a PC. Let's just call a spade a spade.

Editing as I realize I'm being excessively snotty, and I apologize.

Thing is, you can just as easily flip this logic on its head by calling PS5 a Linux PC and Switch/Switch 2 an Android tablet, with their full potential being locked behind modding/hacking. The lines will blur even further once Valve releases the Steam Frame with Proton for ARM. We're quickly approaching a point where gaming is gaming, without the need to put any qualifier in front of it. Game streaming will continue to get poo'd on with good reason, sure, but that's a different subject.