Report: next Xbox could cost $1,200 to $1,800 in 2028

Microsoft's next home console may arrive late and expensive. In a profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Fortune reports that the console codenamed Project Helix is targeting the 2028 holiday season, and that its price has "internally been projected" at $1,200 to $1,800, unless Microsoft decides to subsidise the hardware. Fortune also says a "next-generation handheld device" is planned for the end of 2027.

None of this is official. Microsoft announced Project Helix in March as hardware that will "play your Xbox and PC games," but it hasn't given a date or price. The Verge notes that Sharma has called Helix a "family of devices," and that Microsoft and AMD signed a multi-year deal last year covering a "portfolio of devices." It's not clear whether the handheld would be built by Microsoft or by a partner like Asus, which made the Xbox Ally. Fortune also reports friction between the Xbox and Windows teams over which software the handheld should run.

Our take

An internal projection is not a price tag. Console makers have long sold hardware at or below cost, and Fortune's range is explicitly a pre-subsidy figure. Even so, the number fits a trend. Ars Technica points to the slowdown in chip scaling and AI-driven component shortages, and a recent insider claim put PS6 memory and storage alone at over $680 per console.

The more telling part is the order: handheld first, big box second. Xbox has spent years making its games available on PC, cloud and other platforms. A $1,200-plus console only works as a premium option for enthusiasts, not as the default way to play. If that's the plan, the 2027 handheld and Game Pass matter more to most players than Helix itself.

For now, there's no reason to delay buying hardware you need today. A good screen will outlast any console generation, so our gaming monitor guide is a safer investment than waiting for 2028.