Microsoft confirms next-gen Xbox will play PC games — 'Project Helix' teased as more than just a console

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But will it be able to play all PC games?

A logo for Microsoft's Project Helix.
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft has confirmed that its next generation Xbox — codenamed Project Helix — will be capable of playing both Xbox and PC games. New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma took to X to tease the next-gen console, saying it "will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games."

Sharma says she'll be talking with partners and studios about Project Helix (and presumably its ability to play PC games) at GDC, which kicks off in San Francisco next week. The tease sets Microsoft up for a proper Project Helix reveal soon. Last month, AMD confirmed that it was working with Microsoft on a semi-custom SoC for Project Helix, and said it would be ready to support a launch in 2027.

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Although Microsoft has confirmed Project Helix will be capable of playing PC games, there are still questions about how that will look. Microsoft sells PC games not only through Steam, but also through the Microsoft Store. Many titles even come with Microsoft's Play Anywhere feature, which allows you to carry your progress across PC and console. Critically, these features are only available through the Xbox app on PC; Steam versions don't support the same features.

Project Helix may not be able to play all of your PC games, but Microsoft confirms it's at least capable of doing so. Given the underlying hardware — a semi-custom x86 SoC from AMD — there's little reason why Project Helix would be able to play PC games from one storefront but not another. For now, all we can do is wait until Microsoft has more to share on that front.

Sharma recently assumed the role of Xbox CEO, taking over for Phil Spencer who has stood as a cult of personality for Xbox over decades of representing the brand. In addition to Spencer's retirement, Xbox President Sarah Bond was replaced by long-standing Microsoft executive Matt Booty.

In taking over the role, Sharma laid out a simple goal in open letters published by Microsoft: "Understand what makes this work and protect it." Despite serving as President of Microsoft's CoreAI division from 2024, Sharma said, "We will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us."

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Jake Roach
Jake Roach
Senior Analyst, CPUs

Jake Roach is the Senior CPU Analyst at Tom’s Hardware, writing reviews, news, and features about the latest consumer and workstation processors.

44 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ezst036
    Valve won.
    Reply
  • LordVile
    ezst036 said:
    Valve won.
    Dunno, with all the lawsuits buzzing around it and it finally being called out for its anti consumer practices
    Reply
  • adamboy64
    It's an interesting way to slowly work your way out of the console market - to combine PC & Console into one device.
    Reply
  • LordVile
    adamboy64 said:
    It's an interesting way to slowly work your way out of the console market - to combine PC & Console into one device.
    For me the success depends on how much of a loss they’re willing to take and upgradeability.

    If they can launch this with say a 9600X equivalent CPU, a 9060XT/9070 tier GPU, 24GB of unified memory or a 12/12 split of proprietary/solder memory and a user replaceable SSD at under $1000 I would expect a lot of PC players to look at it seriously. At 750/800 it would sell out instantly especially in the current market.

    If they then commit to launching upgrade packs for the CPU and GPU every few years it’s an easier pill to swallow as you could sell them for less than the console.

    They could also put pressure on steam as the Xbox interface already sync with your steam library and they could offer games cheaper on the Xbox store by taking a smaller cut to boost sales on PC.
    Reply
  • S58_is_the_goat
    Sure it'll play pc games... that are only sold at Microsofts store and at 720p/1080p only.
    Reply
  • user7007
    tbh I thought the xbox one and series x should have been able to dual boot windows on external storage or similar and it could have been pretty cool. gaming in a more secure OS built for gaming, but could double as a regular pc for other tasks and play non-xbox games. Seems kinda obvious. guess we'll see how it goes.

    I also thought xbox one should have been able to use the xbox 360 controllers as well and skipped the tv features and bundled connect. all those xbox 360 users could have kept their controllers (and let's face it they all die eventually and need replacement) and saved a bunch of money upfront. xbox one and x controllers are absolutely nicer than 360 controllers but they're also similar enough you could have made it work.
    Reply
  • atomicWAR
    If this cost more than a 850 dollars I don't think the ability to play PC games will be enough to save it even if the rumored specs are true (ie 5090 raytracing performance...5080 raster). XB has burned any good will they had with gamers a long time ago. Microsoft needs to pull a rabbit out their hat at this point to save the Xbox brand.
    ezst036 said:
    Valve won.
    Did they though? They have the PC for the most part but the Gabecube is in touble...
    LordVile said:
    Dunno, with all the lawsuits buzzing around it and it finally being called out for its anti consumer practices
    I mean yes but I think the Ram and Nand prices are the bigger issue for Valve atm. The Gabecube may never recover from this. It's not a powerful machine. The longer it takes to launch and the more expensive it is, the more likely it is to fail. To be clear I want the Gabecube to be competitive I just doubt Valve's ability to do so if it is not on the self in the next three months at a 600 or less price point for the entry level unit (not the rumored bare bones but fully populated units).

    Valve mostly has PC on lock down and countries are taking notice as you pointed out in the lawsuits. But they won on a platform with multiple store fronts. Valve won by investing in features for users. Then the users choose to make Steam number one. For me it is the one store front I don't mind paying a premuim for considering I have games from 20+ years back I can still play natively with ease. Try that on console without emulation which limits the amount of games availble to play bug free...

    user7007 said:
    tbh I thought the xbox one and series x should have been able to dual boot windows on external storage or similar and it could have been pretty cool. gaming in a more secure OS built for gaming, but could double as a regular pc for other tasks and play non-xbox games. Seems kinda obvious. guess we'll see how it goes.

    I also thought xbox one should have been able to use the xbox 360 controllers as well and skipped the tv features and bundled connect. all those xbox 360 users could have kept their controllers (and let's face it they all die eventually and need replacement) and saved a bunch of money upfront. xbox one and x controllers are absolutely nicer than 360 controllers but they're also similar enough you could have made it work.
    I've thought this since the launch of the XB1...MS missed the boat IMHO.
    Reply
  • Lamarr the Strelok
    LordVile said:
    Dunno, with all the lawsuits buzzing around it and it finally being called out for its anti consumer practices
    I wouldn't mind if they cut back on the sketchy gambling stuff. But other than that they do what most huge corps do in court: Delay.
    Reply
  • Lamarr the Strelok
    S58_is_the_goat said:
    Sure it'll play pc games... that are only sold at Microsofts store and at 720p/1080p only.
    See, that's what I'm picking up on too. No shade to the author, but WTH(eck)?Microsoft store and steam are 2 really different things to them I guess?And you need the app for some things? I know it's news but MS needs to clarify this.I admit I'm pretty crabby towards MS currently but their latest moves sound like they just want it to be so bad and expensive it'll flop and x box is done. Oof. Not good.
    Reply
  • Gururu
    A lot of school kids around here have school laptops and gaming consoles. Means they wouldn't be exposed to PC games otherwise. This would be an interesting way to get them into PC gaming just based on the Xbox reputation. Not a lot of them are going to be reaching for Steam machines, which to me seem to be for older generations.
    Reply