Microsoft just teased a console that makes today’s ray tracing look like a flipbook. The new hardware, code-named Project Helix, pairs a custom AMD SoC with FSR Next and will ship alpha kits to studios in 2027.
The company claims the silicon delivers an order of magnitude leap in ray tracing performance and capability, a phrase that translates to roughly ten times the horsepower of current-gen boxes.
While the silicon bakes, Xbox mode is coming to Windows 11 starting April. Flip a switch and your PC boots straight into the same full-screen dashboard you see on Series X—controller-navigated, no extra launcher cluttering the taskbar.
The back-end numbers keep climbing: 1,500-plus games now carry the Xbox Play Anywhere badge, and 500 dev teams have shipped titles under the program. Buy once, progress syncs between console and PC. Microsoft also teased new ways to play classic back-compat titles later this year as part of its 25th-anniversary plans.
First-party software marches on. 2026 will see fresh Halo and Gears of War entries, plus indie signings Mixtape and Crimson Desert.
Source: Xbox