GoKawiilXbox exec Asha Sharma flags affordability push for next console, disc-to-digital plan for 1,000 games
Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma told the BBC that rising hardware costs, partly fuelled by AI spending, mean the company must prioritise affordability for its next-generation console, codenamed Project Helix. She also announced that owners of roughly 1,000 physical disc titles will soon be able to unlock digital entitlements for those games, with rights transferring to new owners if discs are resold.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The move signals that console makers are grappling with how AI-driven component costs could push gaming hardware further out of reach for consumers, at a time when rivals like Sony and Rockstar are already moving away from physical media entirely. Xbox's hybrid approach, letting players convert discs to digital entitlements, could ease the industry's shift toward digital-only future consoles without alienating fans attached to physical ownership and resale rights.
- Xbox says affordability, not just performance, will guide its next console design amid AI-driven hardware cost pressures.
- Owners of about 1,000 disc-based games will be able to claim digital entitlements, with rights transferable upon resale.
- Xbox has not confirmed whether its next console, Project Helix, will include a disc drive at all.
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Published there as: “Xbox boss 'thinking about affordability' of next-gen console”
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