Next Xbox Could Cost Up to $1,800 and Arrive in 2028, Fortune Reports
- Microsoft’s next Xbox console could cost between $1,200 and $1,800 when it arrives in 2028, according to a Fortune profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma published on Oct.
- Microsoft has not announced any of these plans.
- Sharma, who replaced Phil Spencer as head of Xbox in February 2026, plans to release a next-generation handheld by the 2027 holiday season and the next console by the holidays in 2028, Fortune report…
Microsoft’s next Xbox console could cost between $1,200 and $1,800 when it arrives in 2028, according to a Fortune profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma published on Oct. 20, 2026. The same report says a new Xbox handheld is planned for the 2027 holiday season, Game Pass is headed for an “à la carte” overhaul, and more layoffs are on the way.
Microsoft has not announced any of these plans. Fortune credited several of them to people familiar with the company’s plans.
A handheld in 2027, then Project Helix in 2028
Sharma, who replaced Phil Spencer as head of Xbox in February 2026, plans to release a next-generation handheld by the 2027 holiday season and the next console by the holidays in 2028, Fortune reported. The next-generation hardware is known as Project Helix.
The price is the eye-catching part. “As it stands, the price of the Helix console has internally been projected to cost consumers between $1,200 and $1,800, unless Microsoft decides to subsidize the cost,” Fortune wrote. The magazine also said memory chip shortages are pushing hardware costs higher.
Fortune also described a fight inside Microsoft over what software the new hardware should run. Windows leaders wanted the upcoming handheld to use a trimmed-down version of Windows Home, while Sharma’s team wanted to build its own. A senior Xbox executive threatened to scrap the handheld rather than adopt the Windows build, according to people briefed on the clash. Xbox now largely controls the direction of the operating system, the report said, though Sharma told Fortune, “We can’t build Helix on our own.”
How that compares with today’s Xbox prices
To put Fortune’s range in context, these are the prices Microsoft’s U.S. Xbox store listed for new consoles on Oct. 20, 2026:
| Console | Price on xbox.com |
|---|---|
| Xbox Series S, 512GB | $499.99 |
| Xbox Series S, 1TB | $599.99 |
| Xbox Series X, 1TB Digital Edition | $749.99 |
| Xbox Series X, 1TB | $799.99 |
| Xbox Series X, 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition | $799.99 (sold out) |
At the bottom of Fortune’s range, Helix would cost about $400 more than a standard 1TB Series X does on Microsoft’s store. At the top, it would cost about $1,000 more.
Game Pass could be split into add-ons
Fortune reported that Xbox is planning “a major overhaul of Game Pass that would have players choose features à la carte, including add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming, and multiplayer,” still built on a tiered structure.
For now, those features come bundled. On Oct. 20, 2026, Microsoft’s Game Pass page listed three console plans, and all three included online console multiplayer and some cloud play:
- Essential, $9.99 a month: 50-plus games and 5 hours of cloud play a month.
- Premium, $14.99 a month: 200-plus games, new Xbox-published games within a year of launch and 10 hours of cloud play.
- Ultimate, $22.99 a month: 500-plus games, new games on day one, EA Play, Fortnite Crew, Ubisoft+ Classics and 15 hours of cloud play.
PC Game Pass was listed separately at $13.99 a month. Fortune did not report prices for the planned add-ons.
More layoffs, and what state records show
Sharma has cut 1,868 people so far as part of a plan to reduce Xbox headcount by 3,200 over the next year, Fortune reported. People familiar with the plans told the magazine more rounds are planned for October, November and January, though it noted that layoff plans can change.
Washington state’s public layoff records show two Microsoft notices so far in 2026, both for Redmond. In the Employment Security Department’s WARN database, a notice received July 6, 2026, covers 605 workers with layoffs starting Sept. 4, 2026. A second, received Sept. 22, 2026, covers 277 workers starting Nov. 21, 2026. The database lists the employer only as Microsoft and does not say which division the jobs are in.
What happens next
Fortune called Microsoft’s quarterly earnings report, due in October 2026, the next test for Sharma’s plan. She told the magazine she expects financial improvements to start showing in Microsoft’s fiscal 2027.
The report also covers speculation that Microsoft could sell or spin off Xbox. Judson Althoff, who runs Microsoft’s commercial business, rejected that idea: “We would not have put her on a business we intend to sell.” Asked whether Xbox will still be part of Microsoft in two years, Sharma said, “I think that we’re going to be an important part of Microsoft for a very long time.”
Related: Consoles Cost More Than Ever, and Fewer Americans Are Buying Them.
Featured image: An Xbox Series X with its controller. Photo: Der. Bellemer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
