Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox console has internally been projected to cost buyers $1,200 to $1,800 unless the company decides to subsidize it, Fortune reported on October 20. The same report says Xbox plans a next-generation handheld by the 2027 holiday season and the Project Helix console by the holidays in 2028. Microsoft has not confirmed any of it.
The details come from a long profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma by Fortune tech correspondent Sebastian Herrera, published at 16:10 UTC. Fortune interviewed Sharma in September, but the price, dates and layoff plans are the magazine’s own reporting, in places attributed to unnamed people familiar with the plans. They are not things Sharma said on the record. For everything Microsoft has confirmed, with dates, see our Xbox Project Helix explainer and confirmed timeline.
Table of Contents
What Fortune reported about the next-gen Xbox
- Price: “As it stands, the price of the Helix console has internally been projected to cost consumers between $1,200 and $1,800, unless Microsoft decides to subsidize the cost.” Fortune doesn’t say where the projection comes from or when it was made.
- Timing: “Sharma also plans to release a next-generation handheld device by the 2027 holiday season and the next console by the holidays in 2028.” The report doesn’t say whether Microsoft or a partner would build the handheld.
- Schedule pressure: According to “some people familiar with the matter,” engineering deadlines for Project Helix “have been moved up by at least several months,” pushing teams to work faster, including by using AI.
- Windows fight: People briefed on the clash told Fortune a senior Xbox executive threatened to scrap the handheld rather than run a trimmed-down Windows build. Xbox now “largely” controls the direction of the operating system. Sharma told Fortune: “We can’t build Helix on our own.”
A ROG Xbox Ally docked to a TV, from Xbox's April 2026 docking update. Fortune doesn't say whether the 2027 handheld will be built by Microsoft or a partner. Image: Microsoft
More Xbox layoffs planned for October, November and January
Fortune reports that Sharma has cut 1,868 people so far, part of a plan to reduce headcount by 3,200 over the next year. People familiar with the plans told the magazine the next rounds are planned for this month, November and January, “although layoff plans can change.” Fortune puts the Xbox unit’s profit margin, by one Microsoft measure, at around 3%.
Game Pass could go à la carte
According to “people familiar with the strategy,” Xbox is planning “a major overhaul of Game Pass that would have players choose features à la carte, including add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming, and multiplayer, with the system operating on a tiered structure.” The report gives no prices or launch date for the new structure.
It would be the second big Game Pass change under Sharma. On April 21, Microsoft cut Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 a month and PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99, and said future Call of Duty games will join the service about a year after launch instead of on day one. For the current catalog, see the games leaving Xbox Game Pass on October 31.
Game Pass Ultimate key art. Fortune reports the service could be split into à la carte add-ons for console games, cloud gaming and multiplayer. Image: Microsoft
What Microsoft has actually said about Project Helix
Microsoft hasn’t addressed the Fortune figures publicly. Xbox Wire had posted no statement as of 00:15 UTC on October 21, and the report includes no Microsoft response on the price. The official record is still thin. Microsoft and AMD announced a multi-year chip partnership in June 2025. At GDC on March 11, 2026, Xbox’s Jason Ronald named Project Helix as a console with a custom AMD chip that plays both Xbox console and PC games, with alpha hardware going to developers from 2027.
The closest Microsoft has come to discussing price was in April, not this month. On April 24, Sharma told Game File: “Memory costs will impact pricing, will impact availability. As we think about being where the world plays, we will take that into consideration. So we’re not ready to share a launch timeline right now.”
For comparison, the ASUS-built ROG Xbox Ally X20 handheld went on sale on October 15 for $1,299.99, inside Fortune’s range. The “unless Microsoft decides to subsidize” clause matters most: how much of the cost Microsoft absorbs will decide what buyers actually pay.
What’s next
Fortune calls Microsoft’s quarterly earnings, due this month, the next test of Sharma’s turnaround. Ronald said in May that Microsoft would have “more to share about Project Helix later this year,” and Xbox turns 25 on November 15. Until Microsoft announces a price or date itself, treat the $1,200 to $1,800 range and the 2027/2028 timing as reported, not confirmed. Our Project Helix tracker will be updated when it does.
Sources: Fortune (Oct 20), Xbox Wire (GDC 2026), Xbox Wire (AMD partnership), Xbox Wire (Game Pass price update), Game File, Jason Ronald on X.
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Featured image: Microsoft
