Asha Sharma won’t confirm whether Project Helix will be a disc-drive-less platform.
Physical media in gaming is the hot topic right now. This is largely because PlayStation has confirmed that it will stop producing physical discs for its games in 2028. To address this, XBOX is launching a disc-to-digital option, rolling out digital entitlements first to Insiders.
XBOX’s Next Generation Is a “Family of Devices,” Sharma Says
Speaking to the BBC at Gamescom 2026, Sharma was asked directly whether or not the platform would be disc-less. In response, she tried to laugh off the question, saying that they wouldn’t be discussing their next-generation platform. Still, they are hard at work on a “family of devices” for the next generation.
“It’s interesting. We will of course continue to push the boundaries of performance. We’ve talked about being able to not only play your console games, but also play your PC games on your console. I think, in addition, all of the industry needs to start to innovate on affordability and efficiency.
“That is something that we have not had to do. But with the crisis that’s currently happening in hardware and components, it is absolutely something all of us need to be thinking about and innovating on and giving people more choice in terms of how they play their console and how they purchase their console.”
XBOX has had to raise prices on old hardware because of current RAM and memory pricing issues. Still, they remain confident they will be profitable again within the next fiscal year.
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