The next Xbox console, Project Helix, will 'advance the state of the art' and aims to be far superior to the Series X
It will offer improved ray tracing performance "beyond what's currently possible with the Xbox Series X and S"
· TechRadarNews By Demi Williams published 12 March 2026
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- Microsoft has revealed new details about its next Xbox console, Project Helix
- The system will feature a custom AMD-based SOC, co-designed for the next generation of DirectX and FSR
- It will also deliver improved ray tracing performance and capability
Following the reveal of Project Helix earlier this month, Microsoft has now shared some of the console's specifications that will offer next-generation performance.
During a special keynote at GDC 2026 (thanks, IGN), Jason Ronald, VP, Next Generation, Microsoft, delivered a deep dive into the next PC/console hybrid Xbox, promising "an order of magnitude improvement" on ray tracing performance.
"The entire design of the console is to usher in the next generation of console gaming by advancing the state of the art, and really breaking a lot of these barriers down," Ronald said. "Project Helix is designed to play your Xbox console and PC games, delivering high performance and providing the ultimate player-first experience."
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Ronald announced that it's working closely with AMD "to define the next generation of rendering and simulation," and the console is powered by a custom AMD-based SOC, co-designed for the next generation of DirectX and FSR, and will offer the next-generation of ray tracing performance and capabilities.
Beyond these features, Project Helix also includes "an order of magnitude increase in ray tracing performance and capability, beyond what's currently possible with the Xbox Series X and S," suggesting that Xbox aims to deliver a higher-performing console compared to the current-gen hardware.
"It also unlocks GPU-directed work graph execution, eliminating CPU bottlenecks, meaning that the GPU can actually generate its own workload in real-time, delivering a massive uplift in performance and enabling massive real-time simulation and large complex worlds using runtime-generated geometry and large-scale interactive worlds that players actually want to engage with," Ronald said.
Additionally, Project Helix "is really designed for the next generation of neural assisted rendering," and that, "We've reached some of the limitations of what's possible with traditional rendering techniques, and if we want to continue to advance the state of the art, we have to invent brand new technology."
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