Microsoft has a name — or at least a code name — for the next-generation Xbox console: Project Helix. The working title for the company’s Xbox Series X successor was announced Thursday by newly appointed Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma.
“Great start to the morning with Team Xbox, where we talked about our commitment to the return of Xbox including Project Helix, the code name for our next generation console,” Sharma said in a post on X. “Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games. Looking forward to chatting about this more with partners and studios at my first GDC next week!”
The official Xbox X account unveiled the Project Helix code name with an animated logo: a double helix that forms an X shape within a circle (sound familiar?). The logo seems to imply that the stands of the double helix represent the PC and Xbox games that will be playable on the next-gen Xbox.
Microsoft will have a big presence at next week’s GDC Festival of Gaming, the event formerly known as the Game Developers Conference. At GDC, Microsoft will hold a session titled “Building for the Future with Xbox,” with Jason Ronald, vice president of next generation at Xbox, will detail how “Xbox is empowering creators with a more flexible, connected ecosystem.”
The full description of that session offers a tantalizing description of what Ronald will discuss:
2026 marks the 25th anniversary of Xbox, a milestone that reflects a legacy of innovation, community, and the joy of play. From our first Xbox console to Xbox Series X|S, from Xbox Live, to Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming, and the recent launch of the ROG Xbox Ally, Xbox has continually evolved to meet players where they are. As we look ahead, we remain focused on empowering game creators and enabling seamless play across devices. Join us for a conversation about the vision shaping the future of Xbox and how we’re building a more flexible, connected future for game creators and players everywhere.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma said in February that under her tenure, we’ll see “the return of Xbox.”
“We will celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are,” Sharma said. “It connects us to the players and fans who invest in Xbox, and to the developers who build ambitious experiences for it.”
Microsoft has been touting the next generation of Xbox hardware over the past year. In June, Microsoft announced that it had signed a deal with AMD to “co-engineer silicon” for its “next-generation Xbox consoles.” Then-president of Xbox Sarah Bond made that announcement, signaling that the next-generation Xbox console(s) would run on Windows, and would not be “locked to a single store.” At the time, there were persistent rumors that future Xboxes would be more open, PC-like devices and integrate with storefronts like Steam and the Epic Games Store. Bond had also described the next-gen Xbox as “a very premium, very high-end curated experience” — also known as “expensive.”
Project Helix is expected to arrive sometime in 2027. Here’s what else we know about the next-gen Xbox.
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