Xbox’s next generation will span a “family” of devices, according to comments reportedly made by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who also hinted at further changes to Game Pass as Xbox continues its grand reset.
The details come from an exclusive report by Windows Central’s Jez Corden. Corden says a transcript of an internal Xbox town hall was shared with the outlet and verified by trusted sources. Of course, it goes without saying that you should still have a pinch if salt on your person, ready to be taken at a moments notice.
Discussing the next generation, currently known as Project Helix, Sharma reportedly told staff:
“We are moving to a family of devices for Gen-10. There is not one device that fits all.”
She went on to emphasise a console-first approach while acknowledging players who want to play on the go. Microsoft will manufacture some hardware itself and work with partners on other hardware, with more details to follow as its plans develop.
Of course, we’ve already seen Xbox playing out this strategy with the likes of ASUS’s ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. Is Sharma just hinting toward newer versions of those devices, or maybe even a proper in-house developed Xbox handheld, which has been rumoured for years. If that’s the case, they could be going up against a dedicated PlayStation handheld, too.
As for Game Pass, Sharma reportedly wants the service to become more “flexible for more players.”
That’s familiar language. Back in April, there was an internal memo reported by The Verge’s Tom Warren, in which Sharma outlined a longer-term change:
“Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around.”
Later that month, Pure Xbox covered Corden’s reporting about potentially customisable Game Pass plans, allowing subscribers to choose packages of content. We’ve kind of already seen this with the recent Game Pass changes, because now you have to pay for Ultimate for day 1 Xbox exclusives to be included. Could we also see something like an add-on payment if you want Call of Duty, too? That’s just me speculating, of course.
Sharma also reportedly stressed the need to serve existing console players properly and strengthen Xbox Series X|S. Helix remains part of the plan, and she described progress on its operating system positively. In othe words, it seems like Xbox is still dedicated to making at least one more generation of hardware.
