Wednesday, March 11th 2026
Xbox Confirms Helix Dev Kits To Land End 2027, Xbox Mode Arrives in Windows 11 in April
Asha Sharma, the new CEO of Xbox, recently announced that the next-gen Xbox gaming console is called the Xbox Helix—at least for the time being—and hinted that more information would be revealed about the upcoming Xbox at GDC 2026. Now, GDC is here, and Xbox has delivered on that hint, with Xbox VP of Next Generation, Jason Ronald, divulging more information about Project Helix in a panel. The most notable piece of information that emerged about the console is that alpha versions of Helix dev kits would start shipping to customers as early as the end of 2027. This more or less confirms the recently rumored 2027-2028 launch window of the next-gen Xbox.
Ronald also reiterated that the next-gen Xbox is "designed to play your Xbox console and PC games," although it's still somewhat unclear if Helix will be a full-fledged console-PC hybrid à la Valve's Steam Machine—although rumors suggest that this will be the case. The executive also confirmed that it is working with AMD on a slew of new machine learning-powered tech, including FSR Diamond, which AMD also announced at GDC, and that the new AMD SoC would be designed around upcoming DirectX versions for improved ray tracing, performance, and efficiency. He also confirmed that the Helix will continue the backwards compatibility trend that Xbox has become known for, promising that Xbox will continue to play games made for the last four generations of consoles. Presumably, this means that the Helix will be able to play games from the Xbox Series, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 generations as well as games designed for the Xbox Helix.
In addition to the news about the upcoming console generation, Ronald confirmed Xbox Mode—a feature that combines "a familiar Xbox experience" and the flexibility of Windows. This will be exclusive to Windows 11 PCs, and is an iteration on the Full Screen Experience previously tested on the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally. That previous version was shown to deliver a decent performance improvement, but if changes have been made since then, performance and resource usage may also have changed—whether for better or worse is unclear.
Source:
Xbox
Ronald also reiterated that the next-gen Xbox is "designed to play your Xbox console and PC games," although it's still somewhat unclear if Helix will be a full-fledged console-PC hybrid à la Valve's Steam Machine—although rumors suggest that this will be the case. The executive also confirmed that it is working with AMD on a slew of new machine learning-powered tech, including FSR Diamond, which AMD also announced at GDC, and that the new AMD SoC would be designed around upcoming DirectX versions for improved ray tracing, performance, and efficiency. He also confirmed that the Helix will continue the backwards compatibility trend that Xbox has become known for, promising that Xbox will continue to play games made for the last four generations of consoles. Presumably, this means that the Helix will be able to play games from the Xbox Series, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 generations as well as games designed for the Xbox Helix.
11 Comments on Xbox Confirms Helix Dev Kits To Land End 2027, Xbox Mode Arrives in Windows 11 in April
XBOX/Gamepass app on Windows is arse, and I don't buy games on DRM Platforms (aside Steam) unless they're deeply discounted, anymore.
Turn the idea into it's own stripped down OS so I don't have to deal with all the bloat that's involved with modern WindowsOS.
I guess we will have to see the released hardware to know for sure.
I think a heavily subsidized gamepass version that brings the hardware down to a more normal console price would be smart but I doubt that is in the cards. I fully expect 1200 ish due to them getting zero cut from any game purchases on other stores.
I guess you could say technically they've had it all along but just keep adding to it (Windows OS) instead of just making a stripped version, WindowsX.
admittedly it is a bit of a stretch to want a real dedicated X OS / WindowsX since most users wouldn't know how to use dual boot and just want the machine to work when they hit the power button. Xbox Mode would be nice if it was just able to reboot into its own environment, an option in the Start menu would be much easier.
The only thing I can see as an improvement is Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS). Everything else is, in my opinion, a mortal sin for any self-proclaimed gamer.
By the way @Cpt.JankDeskmodder (de)
With a friendly smile,
Fred.
I don't know if this feature is new, as I've only recently stopped preloading every piece of junk.
With a friendly smile,
Fred.