Microsoft Exec: Next-Gen Xbox Will Run PC Games, Too

Microsoft’s new Xbox chief says the next-gen console will play Xbox titles and PC games.

Asha Sharma tweeted about the gaming hardware, code-named “Project Helix,” and tipped one major capability that’ll no doubt raise eyebrows. “Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games,” she wrote, without elaborating.

Sharma said she’ll be “chatting about this more with partners and studios” at her first Game Developers Conference (GDC) next week in San Francisco, an annual gathering for video game studios and creators. 

She’s not scheduled to present at GDC, but Jason Ronald, VP of Next Generation on the Xbox team, is hosting a session on March 11 that will cover “the vision shaping the future of Xbox and how we’re building a more flexible, connected future for game creators and players everywhere.”

Sharma dropped the tease following rumors that the next-generation Xbox is being designed to run games from Valve’s Steam store. If true, it would be a game-changing decision, since consoles are usually locked-down ecosystems configured to only use the manufacturer’s digital store. Last year, now-former Xbox President Sarah Bond said Microsoft was committed to delivering an Xbox experience “not locked to a single store, or tied to one device.”

Although details about the next-gen Xbox remain thin, Microsoft is designing the console in partnership with AMD, which produces chips for Windows PCs and Valve, including the handheld Steam Deck and the upcoming Steam Machine. 

Adding the ability to run Steam games would certainly improve the console’s appeal, as the Xbox has been losing ground to Sony’s PlayStation. But we also wonder if the next-gen Xbox might come with a higher price tag than usual. In October, Bond also told Mashable: “The next-gen console is going to be a very premium, very high-end, curated experience.”

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