Next Xbox name confirmed – and yes, it will play your PC games as well

The new CEO of Xbox has made a major announcement just over a week after she started in the role. Asha Sharma has also confirmed a key detail about the new machine that could be important when battling the PS6 and Valve's Steam Machine.

As revealed on X, the codename for the next Xbox is Project Helix, with a cylindrical logo that has some believe it ties-in with images of the Xbox "Brooklin" leaked as far back as 2023.

Sharma also added on her own X account confirmation that Project Helix will be a hybrid console – it'll play both Xbox and PC games.

"Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games," she posted, along with the hint that more could be revealed during the GDC Festival of Gaming in San Francisco next week.

Previously the Game Developers Conference, GDC has grown into something more in recent times – partly thanks to the collapse of the summer's E3 gaming event a few years ago.

Hopefully, we'll hear a little more on Helix's PC capabilities, because if that means it can access Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG and other digital stores, plus be used with retro games emulators, AND play the entire old and new Xbox catalogues that's a big deal.

Neither Sony or Valve will be able to compete with that, surely?

Of course, it will all come down to price. You currently have to pay at least £800 to play modern PC games well enough to be worth it, and well over £1,000 to get the best performance. But putting a £1K price ticket on the next Xbox takes it far away from being a home console.

One thing's for sure, with the Project Helix name now out there, we could be hearing a lot more about Xbox's plans sooner than later. For example, Xbox announced "Project Scarlett" during E3 in 2019 and then launched the Xbox One the following year.

Xbox Project Scarlett - E3 2019 - Reveal Trailer - YouTube

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Could this mean Project Helix will arrive in 2027? There's every chance.

We've not had a tentative release window this time, but many analysts and experts have been touting 2027 for months. They may end up being bang on the money.