![\"A](\"https:\/\/platform.theverge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/20260311_102116-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDetails about Project Helix. Photo by Sean Hollister \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
Ronald also confirmed that Xbox and Windows are getting closer together<\/a>, beyond the fact that Project Helix will play PC games too. \u201cPC is becoming an increasingly important part of Xbox. We\u2019re bringing the best of Xbox to Windows itself,\u201d says Ronald.<\/p>\n Microsoft is bringing the Xbox mode that originally shipped with the Xbox Ally handheld to more Windows computers \u201cto select markets starting in April,\u201d as well as Advanced Shader Delivery, which precompiles shaders so you can download them alongside a game or its updates, instead of having to wait when you launch a title.<\/p>\n Ronald says the Microsoft team\u2019s been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to make the Xbox mode \u201cfeel distinctly Xbox\u201d and feel the same as you migrate between devices and cloud. He says gamers play 3-5 games at any one time on average, and you should be able to pick up and play whether you\u2019re on console, PC, or cloud.<\/p>\n As we spotted outside the keynote<\/a>, Microsoft wants game developers to just build once for both Windows and Xbox, instead of building twice for both. It\u2019s creating a unified development environment where \u201cThe vast majority of code that your game runs on Xbox is the exact same code that runs on other platforms,\u201d says Ronald.<\/p>\n And while he isn\u2019t promising all games will be this way, Ronald suggests that you won\u2019t have to buy those games multiple times, too: the already-existing Xbox Play Anywhere program lets you buy once and \u201cplay on any screen,\u201d he says. The catalog of Xbox Play Anywhere games now has more than 1,500 titles, Ronald says.<\/p>\n As part of the 25th anniversary of Xbox, the the game preservation team will also re-release an unspecified number of older Xbox titles under its Game Preservation program, Ronald says. \u201cAs one of the largest publishers in the industry, we feel a deep responsibility to preserve games from the past.\u201d And he hints that \u201csome of our most iconic first-party franchises are returning this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Does Game Preservation mean classic Xbox games are coming to PC? An official summary of his remarks<\/a> makes it sound like that: \u201cAs part of our 25th anniversary later this year, we\u2019ll be rolling out new ways to play some of the most iconic games from our past.\u201d Ronald wouldn\u2019t tell us when we asked him outside the venue, only saying that more news will come when Microsoft announces those 25th anniversary plans.<\/p>\n Photo by Sean Hollister \/ The Verge<\/p>\n The news follows Microsoft\u2019s recent announcement of the codename for its next-generation console, Project Helix, which the company says will play both console and PC games<\/a>. That announcement about Helix was made by new Xbox boss Asha Sharma, who took over as Microsoft\u2019s gaming CEO in February<\/a>. Former Xbox boss Phil Spencer is retiring, and former Xbox president Sarah Bond, who had been seen as a potential successor to Spencer, also announced her departure<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last year, Bond hinted that the next-generation Xbox would be more like a PC and noted that it would be a \u201ca very premium, very high-end curated experience.\u201d In her first memo since taking over Xbox, Sharma promised a \u201crenewed commitment to Xbox starting with console,\u201d and in her post about Helix, Sharma said the console would \u201clead in performance.\u201d This week, Sharma also posted a picture<\/a> of the original Xbox prototype, which Microsoft is showing at the GDC Festival of Gaming. 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