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During GDC today (via IGN), Xbox VP Jason Ronald provided a more top-down look at what can be expected from Project Helix. Ronald said that Helix will, perhaps expectedly, provide a massive leap forward when it comes to ray tracing capabilities. Specs for the platform weren’t fully provided, but it was said that the platform will incorporate next-gen neural rendering and upscaling, with the console itself being powered by tech from AMD.
Ronald also talked about how many of Xbox’s past objectives as a company will continue to be vital with Project Helix. Backward compatibility was one function Ronald mentioned in particular, as Xbox wants to continue to ensure that older games can still readily be played while being better than ever. Xbox’s Play Anywhere strategy is also going to become even more important with Helix, as will its focus on handheld gaming, which has been most prominently seen so far with the ROG Xbox Ally.
Xbox Project Helix Release Window Seemingly Teased
Perhaps the most interesting thing that Ronald said in this presentation is that alpha versions of Project Helix will begin going out to developers in 2027. This is notable because it also suggests that Helix itself will end up launching to consumers next year. Back in 2020, dev kits for Xbox Series X and S consoles didn’t go out to developers until early that year. Assuming that Helix dev kits also ship in early 2027, this would set up the console to drop at the end of the calendar year in proximity to the holidays.
