xbox's console effort was a mixed bag, to say the least. The company built a strong reputation with the Xbox 1, solidified its dominance with the Xbox 360, began to lose its market dominance with the Xbox One, and during the Xbox Series But Xbox isn't giving up its hardware ambitions entirely.
The next Xbox console was just announced via the official Xbox Twitter account, called Project Helix. Along with the announcement, newly appointed Xbox Gaming CEO Asha Sharma declared in a tweet that “Project Helix will drive performance and playability for Xbox and PC games.” The “leading in performance” part is predictable. Basically, all new consoles, except those specifically marketed as low-end budget options, are considered the “most powerful” consoles by their creators. However, the comment about playing both Xbox and PC games is interesting. Except that it essentially confirms what's been widely reported and speculated for months: The next Xbox will be somewhat of a console-PC hybrid, which could lead to some very strange results indeed.
The next 'Xbox' may be able to play PlayStation exclusive games
Over the past few years, Sony has brought some of its most high-profile exclusives to PC, including:
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Marvel's Spider-Man
- Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- god of war
- god of war ragnarok
- Uncharted 4
- the last of us part 1
- the last of us part 2
If you ask a PlayStation user what the best PS exclusives are, they'll likely mention one or more of the aforementioned products. So the migration to PC is very important because you're basically selling a PlayStation console. It's long been a valid assumption that Sony doesn't view PC as a competitive platform in the same way it views Switch or Xbox. PC users are probably the least likely to give up hardware to opt for a home console, and represent the game sales Sony is missing out on.
This makes a lot of sense, and the data seems to back it up: 2018 god of war It has reportedly sold more than 4 million copies on Steam since its release in 2022. Not bad for a 4 year old game. But the problem is becoming much more complex, especially with the announcement of Project Helix. If the next Xbox can play PC games on Steam (which ROG Xbox Ally can do, after all), that means all PlayStation exclusives that received a PC version will technically be playable on Xbox devices. idea to play the last of us or god of war It might be a little harder to get used to on Microsoft's home console, but it would be a worthwhile gain for Xbox, which has ported several of the hottest games of the past few years to PlayStation without giving viewers anything in return.
Don't get used to the idea of playing PlayStation games on your new Xbox
Coincidentally, a recent report from longtime Bloomberg industry insider Jason Schreier claims Sony will drastically scale back its PC launches. According to Bloomberg, there are no plans to bring it. Ghost of Yotei or sarosOne of the most anticipated PS5 exclusives of 2026 is coming to PC. Project Helix may be launched. Ghost of TsushimaBut it probably won't run Ghost of Yotei whenever. You can also play. return It's on the device, but it's not. saros. According to Schrier's report, Sony's multiplayer game is still expected to release on PC.
According to Schreier's report, PC sales of the aforementioned games have fallen short of Sony's expectations, but the impending release of the Steam Machine (if RAM shortages are to be alleviated) may also have played a role in this decision. Additionally, Sony likely saw the writing on the wall when it came to Xbox and, as many consumers know, was moving towards a PC-console hybrid approach. The PlayStation brand could be tarnished if audiences could play PlayStation games on Valve or Microsoft devices. This would be doubly true if Valve or Microsoft could actually compete with Sony in terms of power and price.
Still, I don't see the reality of Sony actually pulling the existing PC port from an online store or anything like that. The bell has already rung, and doing something too radical will only serve to generate negative publicity without any real financial or strategic benefits. So while Sony appears to be doubling down on its classic exclusive practices, several major releases from the past decade will probably still be available on PC and therefore on the next Xbox. This is certainly not what I expected the next-gen console wars to look like, but it will be interesting to watch it unfold.
