XBOX CEO Says Affordability Will Shape Project Helix

Xbox says affordability will play a major role in Project Helix as rising memory and component costs put pressure on Microsoft’s next-generation console plans.

Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma told the BBC that the gaming industry now faces a “crisis” in computing prices, with AI companies buying large amounts of RAM and other hardware for data centers.

Microsoft wants to balance performance and price

Sharma said Xbox needs to balance performance, hardware efficiency, and affordability as it develops its next console generation.

Microsoft is looking closely at storage, memory usage, component costs, and the final price per unit. Sharma also acknowledged that spending on AI infrastructure contributes to rising component prices, even as Microsoft continues to invest heavily in AI.

She previously warned that memory costs will affect Project Helix pricing and availability.

According to Sharma, the wider gaming industry now needs to innovate around efficiency and affordability in ways it did not have to before.

Xbox is also working on physical-to-digital game ownership

Microsoft is developing a system that will reportedly give players digital entitlements for around 1,000 physical Xbox games they already own.

Players would activate an entitlement by inserting a supported physical disc into an Xbox console.

If they later sell that game, the digital entitlement would transfer to the new owner. Sharma said Microsoft wants to preserve player choice between physical and digital games.

However, she would not confirm whether Project Helix will include a disc drive. Concerns that Project Helix could drop physical discs have circulated for months.

Backwards compatibility remains part of Xbox’s plans

Sharma reiterated that Xbox intends to continue supporting backwards compatibility across future hardware generations.

Microsoft has already expanded Xbox Backward Compatibility to PC, bringing several classic titles to another platform.

She also described Xbox’s recent restructuring as a “reset” designed to keep the business sustainable for the next 25 years.

Despite rising hardware costs and major changes inside Xbox, Sharma believes gaming is on track to become one of the most important forms of entertainment over the next century.