{"id":631244,"date":"2026-06-10T13:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T13:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/631244\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T13:55:10","slug":"xbox-exploring-radically-different-console-business-models","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/631244\/","title":{"rendered":"Xbox exploring \u2018radically different\u2019 console business models"},"content":{"rendered":"

The RAMageddon<\/a> crisis has got Microsoft rethinking its Xbox console hardware business. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Xbox strategy chief Matthew Ball have both revealed this week that Microsoft is reevaluating plans for its next-generation Project Helix console and exploring \u201cradically different\u201d console business models in the meantime.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working very hard to rethink everything that we can about Helix, which is a console we are committed to shipping, and we are very cognizant of the ways in which we need to change as a company to make sure it is affordable, to make sure that it\u2019s flexible,\u201d said Ball in an interview with The Game Business<\/a> earlier this week.<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s former Xbox president Sarah Bond described<\/a> its next-gen Xbox console as \u201ca very premium, very high-end curated experience\u201d back in October, before the industry-wide constraints on memory and storage really started to hit. Sharma is now looking at ways to navigate the RAMageddon crisis, with a focus on affordability for current and next-gen Xbox consoles.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn hardware, we are in a crisis right now, the entire industry is,\u201d said Sharma in an interview with Fortune<\/a>. While the costs of memory and storage keep rising, Xbox is looking at different ways to combat the underlying price pressures. \u201cWe must think about other ways to think about the cost construction of a console. We must think about how we create different plans, so more people can participate in the console,\u201d says Sharma. \u201cWe must think about partnerships that will allow us to have better distribution and reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft is now looking at new business models for consoles, and \u201cwhat is needed for console rather than just the most premium, high-performance console in the world,\u201d according to Sharma. \u201cI think we\u2019ve reached a point where it will be hard to imagine that mass audiences can afford thousands of dollars to spend on a console generation, and so I think we will start to see radically different business models that we never expected start to come into orbit later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft has many options, particularly if it\u2019s weighing up more partnerships. In the past, the company has bundled Xbox hardware with Game Pass subscriptions, creating an easier way for gamers to finance the cost of a new console over a 24-month period. Xbox All Access<\/a> was quietly discontinued last year, after many retailers pulled out of the program. It\u2019s possible Microsoft could launch something similar, if it\u2019s prepared to subsidize Xbox hardware further to tempt consumers into subscriptions.<\/p>\n

Sharma also teased that Microsoft is preparing to \u201cdo more this summer\u201d with Xbox Game Pass \u201cto create more flexible offerings\u201d for the subscription service. One of Sharma\u2019s first big Xbox changes was cutting the price<\/a> of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in April. Microsoft also partnered with Discord<\/a> last month to bundle a free Xbox Game Pass \u201cstarter edition\u201d with Nitro subscriptions.<\/p>\n

Microsoft could also focus on more ad-supported options for Xbox. The company has been working on a free Xbox Cloud Gaming option<\/a> for well over a year now and previously confirmed<\/a> it was in testing in October. While this will help Microsoft attract consumers who don\u2019t want to purchase increasingly expensive game consoles, it\u2019s not \u201cradically different\u201d from what exists today.<\/p>\n

Radically different would be something like Telly<\/a>, a startup that offers you a free TV in exchange for watching ads. Radically different could also hint at Microsoft allowing others to make Xbox consoles. Microsoft has already been exploring this with its Xbox-branded handhelds with Asus, and the next Xbox, codenamed Project Helix, could go a step further. Microsoft has previously hinted it will be some kind of hybrid of a console and a PC<\/a>, and if other PC OEMs are able to create Xbox-branded devices based on AMD\u2019s new chips<\/a>, it may well help with affordability.<\/p>\n

Both Sharma and Ball have also hinted that the next Xbox also needs to be more flexible. \u201cI think that we have to think very differently about storage and memory going forward,\u201d says Sharma. \u201cWe will have to apply new techniques, so that we can compress that. We will have to empower customers to have very flexible storage offerings. We will have to empower new types of games, so they can fit on device, and so there\u2019s going to be a lot of innovation. This will take years, not days, not weeks, but we\u2019ll go through it together with the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reading between the lines, it sure sounds like Microsoft is looking at making sure Project Helix owners will be able to extend storage without expensive proprietary solutions like the Xbox expansion cards<\/a> found on the Xbox Series S \/ X. Sony opted for standard M.2 SSD expandable storage support<\/a> on the PS5, and while it wasn\u2019t as friendly to use as simply slotting in an Xbox expansion card, it was a lot less expensive for PS5 owners.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no quick fix for Microsoft\u2019s Xbox console pricing, but it\u2019s not an easy issue for the rest of the industry to navigate either. We\u2019ve already seen PS5 sales plummet after price rises<\/a>, and Valve also raised Steam Deck prices<\/a> by more than $200 last month. All eyes are now on Valve\u2019s pricing for its Steam Machine this summer<\/a>, which could hint at the direction of Xbox and PlayStation pricing decisions.<\/p>\n

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