Xbox Helix's biggest feature may be what hurts the Xbox console the most

Xbox's next-gen Project Helix may not deliver the open PC experience fans once hoped for, or were once told they were going to get, and the reasons are as much financial as they are strategic.

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Microsoft previously announced that Project Helix will run both Xbox and PC games, mentioning owners will be able to access multiple storefronts as PC gamers do, listing popular marketplaces such as the Epic Games Store and GOG. However, those teasers were under previous Xbox CEO Phil Spencer, and since the new leadership has come in, the gaming industry has shifted substantially, particularly with the cost of hardware, new competitors, and costs of game development increasing. With memory chip costs through the roof and next-gen consoles already priced north of $1,000, an open system like a Steam Machine may not be such an attractive prospect for Microsoft.

Windows Central's Jez Corden has outlined this in a recent report where he states that he has been informed Xbox is losing around $150 per Xbox Series X|S due to the recent memory shortage, and that it expects to continue losing money on every console following the August 2026 price hike. But what does this have to do with Steam potentially being accessible on the Project Helix console?

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Corden outlines a very interesting point, and uses internal Xbox documents verified by Windows Central to highlight it. According to the report, about 75% of the owners of the Xbox Ally, a gaming PC handheld, also subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass. However, only about 25% of people who own an Xbox Ally and an Xbox console made purchases on the Xbox PC ecosystem. That isn't the most alarming figure. The documents revealed that only 2% of Xbox Ally owners who also don't own an Xbox console made a purchase on the Xbox PC ecosystem, indicating that almost all new Xbox Ally owners skipped the Xbox Store for Steam.

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Question #1

Will Project Helix support third-party PC storefronts like Steam, Epic Games Store, or GOG on the console?

Microsoft previously announced Project Helix would run both Xbox and PC games and said owners would be able to access multiple storefronts, naming marketplaces such as the Epic Games Store and GOG. Recent reporting cited in the article says that under new leadership and given rising hardware costs and other financial pressures, that open PC storefront functionality may no longer be delivered as originally teased.

Answered

Question #2

How did Xbox Ally owner purchasing behavior (Steam vs Xbox Store) influence concerns about Project Helix?

Windows Central’s report found that about 75% of Xbox Ally owners subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass, yet only roughly 25% of Ally owners who also own an Xbox console made purchases on the Xbox PC ecosystem and just 2% of Ally owners without an Xbox console bought from the Xbox PC store, showing most new Ally buyers skipped the Xbox Store for Steam. That behavior raised concerns that if Project Helix lets users access Steam like the Ally does, many loss-leading consoles might be used primarily to run Steam rather than driving Xbox purchases or subscriptions, making it harder for Microsoft to subsidize hardware.

Answered

Question #3

What percentage of Xbox Ally owners who don’t have an Xbox console made purchases on the Xbox PC ecosystem?

According to the article, only 2% of Xbox Ally owners who do not own an Xbox console made a purchase on the Xbox PC ecosystem.

Answered

Question #4

How might low conversion to Xbox Store purchases affect Microsoft’s ability to subsidize Project Helix hardware?

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Corden argues that if Project Helix offers the same functionality, Xbox could have a real issue on its hands, as many of its hardware customers, which it is losing money on per unit, are now not even converting over to its subscription models, making it far more difficult to subsidize the hardware. Judging by the Steam Deck figures, and if Xbox follows suit with the same functionality with Project Helix, we could see the next-generation Xbox be predominantly used to play games through Steam.