Microsoft has revealed further details about the next Xbox console at the Game Developers Conference.
Anyone who thought they’d have to choose between nostalgia and next-gen graphics with the next generation of Xbox consoles has just been proven wrong. At this year’s Game Developers Conference, Microsoft officially unveiled the future of its gaming division yesterday.
Jason Ronald, Xbox Vice President, has revealed details about the next generation of Xbox, codenamed Project Helix. Thanks to a close partnership with AMD, the new console is expected to offer not only a quantum leap in ray tracing performance but also improved backward compatibility with all previous Xbox generations.
Focus on AMD’s AI upscaler FSR Diamond
The PC-console hybrid will support AMD’s AI upscaler FSR Diamond. Ronald promises that Microsoft will push the boundaries of rendering and simulation with the new Xbox, even referring to a quantum leap in performance.
Jack Huynh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Computing and Graphics at AMD, describes the benefits of integration on X as follows: Designed for next-generation neural rendering.
Next-generation ML-based upscaling
New ML-based multi-frame generation
Next-generation ray regeneration for RT and path tracing.🚀 Big moment for the future of gaming.
Thrilled to partner with @Xbox and @asha_shar on Project Helix, a multi-year deep co-engineering partnership driving next-gen performance, breakthrough graphics, and compatibility with your existing Xbox game library.
Powering the… pic.twitter.com/twGyonqgQS— Jack Huynh (@jackhuynh) March 11, 2026
Project Helix will also support the next generation of DirectX and enhance technologies like DirectStorage with Zstandard (zstd). Zstandard is a compression method intended to replace Deflate, the method used in the Xbox Series S/X.
Zstandard compresses data very heavily but can be decompressed quickly, all while requiring minimal hardware resources. For the next Xbox, this could result in smaller file sizes, reduced loading screens, and more detailed game worlds.
Improvements in backward compatibility
According to Microsoft, Project Helix will be backward compatible with all four previous Xbox generations to
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, Microsoft plans to enhance older games on the next Xbox console, particularly in terms of visuals. However, Microsoft has not provided any details at this time.
Project Helix: The new Xbox is actually bringing to life what Microsoft envisioned a decade ago
The first partners are expected to receive developer kits at the beginning of 2027. It can therefore be assumed that the next Xbox will be available in stores at the earliest at the end of 2027.
Now we want to hear your opinion. What do you expect from the next Xbox? Is there anything that Microsoft should definitely improve? Feel free to leave us a comment.
boundaries of rendering and simulation with the new Xbox, even referring to a quantum leap in performance.
Jack Huynh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Computing and Graphics at AMD, describes the benefits of integration on X as follows:Designed for next-generation neural rendering.
Next-generation ML-based upscaling
New ML-based multi-frame generation
Next-generation ray regeneration for RT and path tracing.🚀 Big moment for the future of gaming.
Thrilled to partner with @Xbox and @asha_shar on Project Helix, a multi-year deep co-engineering partnership driving next-gen performance, breakthrough graphics, and compatibility with your existing Xbox game library.
Powering the… pic.twitter.com/twGyonqgQS— Jack Huynh (@jackhuynh) March 11, 2026
Project Helix will also support the next generation of DirectX and enhance technologies like DirectStorage with Zstandard (zstd). Zstandard is a compression method intended to replace Deflate, the method used in the Xbox Series S/X.
Zstandard compresses data very heavily but can be decompressed quickly, all while requiring minimal hardware resources. For the next Xbox, this could result in smaller file sizes, reduced loading screens, and more detailed game worlds.
Improvements in backward compatibility
According to Microsoft, Project Helix will be backward compatible with all four previous Xbox generations to
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, Microsoft plans to enhance older games on the next Xbox console, particularly in terms of visuals. However, Microsoft has not provided any details at this time.
Project Helix: The new Xbox is actually bringing to life what Microsoft envisioned a decade agoThe first partners are expected to receive developer kits at the beginning of 2027. It can therefore be assumed that the next Xbox will be available in stores at the earliest at the end of 2027.
Now we want to hear your opinion. What do you expect from the next Xbox? Is there anything that Microsoft should definitely improve? Feel free to leave us a comment.
