Next Xbox could cost $1,200–$1,800: how Microsoft might make it affordable

Business publication Fortune, citing sources inside Microsoft, reports that the company's next-generation video game console, the Xbox Helix, is internally projected to cost between $1,200 and $1,800 when it launches in 2028. Technology outlet The Verge notes that such a price seems at odds with earlier statements from Xbox leaders about affordability, and it looks at possible explanations.

What Xbox leaders said before

Former Xbox chief Phil Spencer reportedly said the market would not be grown with $1,000 consoles. His successor, Asha Sharma, has acknowledged that mass audiences will struggle to afford thousands of dollars and spoken of "radically different business models." Chief strategy officer Matthew Ball has said the company would change its practices to keep the console affordable.

Five possible scenarios

First, Microsoft could subsidize the console, though Sharma wrote in a memo that subsidies, which reached $20 billion over the past five years, cannot continue. Second, the console could be bundled with a long-term Xbox Game Pass subscription, similar to how mobile carriers sell phones. Third, some players could use the cloud instead: Microsoft has just launched a pay-as-you-go cloud gaming service starting at $3.99 for 10 hours.

Fourth, the Helix could be a pricey early-adopter device while everyone else keeps using the current Xbox Series X and S. Fifth, partners such as Asus could sell cheaper Xbox devices, since Sharma has described Helix as a "family of devices."

The author also points to expensive memory and storage components as a factor in console pricing. Several former gaming executives argue that a new hardware generation is not urgently needed.