Microsoft has moved to set expectations ahead of today’s first Xbox Game Dev Update show, with word on when fans will hear more details of the company’s next-gen console, codenamed Project Helix.
In a post on X/Twitter this morning, Xbox hardware chief Jason Ronald said that Microsoft would share more details of its under-wraps machine “later this year.”
“For those who have asked, this is a recap of our announcements from GDC for those who weren’t able to make it,” Ronald said of the Project Helix section in today’s Xbox Game Dev Update show. “We will have more to share about Project Helix later this year.”
Today’s Xbox Game Dev Update dropped on YouTube at 9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern time, and we’re watching it now for new announcements.
“We were really proud to announce Project Helix at GDC, direct to developers,” said Xbox veteran Chris Charla, kicking off a recap of the console’s formal announcement back in March. This was made by Jason Ronald, Xbox’s VP of Next Generation, who now has full oversight over Project Helix’s development.
IGN was in the audience for this presentation and reported it live at the time, which you can read for a rundown of its most important talking points. This was the presentation where Ronald confirmed Project Helix would play both Xbox and PC games, and that developers would receive alpha versions of the console in 2027.
Up next in today’s Xbox Game Dev Update was a section led by Travis Bradshaw, principal product lead for Xbox’s developer onboarding program. Bradshaw discussed developments designed to allow studios to ship games on Xbox faster and easier, and on every type of device players are using. This includes an easier workflow for studios wanting to use Xbox developer tools, and get started in as little as an hour.
Another focus here is Xbox’s support of gameplay across multiple devices — such as on PC or handheld as well as consoles — through Xbox Play Anywhere. Bradshaw said that more than half of Xbox users play on multiple devices, and that Xbox Play Anywhere titles are played 2.2 times longer.
Next up was Shawn Hargreaves, who leads Microsoft’s DirectX team. There was a recap of DirectX features shipped in 2025, and a look ahead at how DirectX is improving ray-tracing capabilities, and adding machine learning tools into its rendering pipeline. Here, Hargreaves made clear that this meant work on things such as upscaling, frame generation, and texture compression, rather than fully generative AI.
Another segment was helmed by Brady Woods, principal product lead in the Xbox commerce team, to talk about the Xbox Marketplace. Unsurprisingly, the launch of the ability to buy games via your smartphone led to an increase in revenue and number of transactions among players. This success is an example of how Xbox is operating more effectively to improve Xbox Marketplace tools and consumer experiences, so developers get their games in the hands of the players who will want to buy them.
Wishlists will be simpler to set up for developers, and can notify players when games hit their launch day. Game Previews, meanwhile, will get a dedicated channel on the store for easier discovery. Promotional offers, essentially sale prices, are also being made easier to set up for developers to take advantage of key moments — such as when a game is suddenly featured by a content creator.
The Xbox Game Dev Update show’s debut today follows a series of changes from freshly-installed Xbox boss Asha Sharma. This has included a notable recommitment to the brand’s next-gen console plans, the removal of the division’s corporate-sounding Microsoft Gaming branding, a shiny new look for the Xbox logo, and a cut to the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (while booting new Call of Duty games from the subscription on day one).
As for when we’ll hear more on Project Helix, the suggestion that more will be revealed “later this year” suggests we have some months to wait. Could Xbox hold its own dedicated unveiling show, or is the company set to make an appearance at a pre-existing industry show — Gamescom in August, or The Game Awards in December? Time will tell. As for today, that was a wrap for the first Xbox Game Dev Update show.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
