- 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 offer improved performance and ray tracing capability.
Following the reveal of Project Helix earlier this month, Microsoft has shared some of the specifications of the console that will offer next-gen performance.
During a special keynote at GDC 2026 (thanks, IGN), Jason Ronald, Microsoft’s VP of Next Generation, delved into the upcoming PC/console hybrid Xbox, promising “an order of magnitude improvement” in ray tracing performance.
“The entire console design is intended to usher in the next generation of console gaming by advancing the state of the art and really breaking down a lot of these barriers,” Ronald said. “Project Helix is designed to play games on your Xbox console and PC, delivering high performance and providing the best experience for the player.”
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Ronald announced that he is 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 performance and ray tracing capabilities.
Beyond these features, Project Helix also includes “an order of magnitude increase in performance and ray tracing capability, beyond what is currently possible with Xbox Series
“It also unlocks GPU-driven job graphics execution, eliminating CPU bottlenecks, meaning the GPU can generate its own workload in real-time, delivering a massive improvement 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 interact with,” Ronald said.
Furthermore, Project Helix “is really designed for the next generation of neuron-assisted rendering” and that “We have reached some of the limitations of what is possible with traditional rendering techniques, and if we want to continue advancing the state of the art, we have to invent completely new technology.”
“The key part of this is how we are integrating the next version of AMD FSR into Project Helix and into the Xbox game development kit. And this is really designed for the next generation of neural rendering techniques, whether it’s neural materials, generated images or even if you think about things like the latest ML-based upscaling techniques or super resolution techniques,” Ronald continued. “You’re thinking about a new generation of ML-based multiframes. And there are even new capabilities, like a new ray regeneration technique that’s really designed to deliver high-performance ray tracing for both real-time ray tracing and path tracing.”
During the keynote, Ronald also confirmed that Microsoft plans to ship alpha versions of the hardware to developers starting in 2027, suggesting that it will most likely be a while before the console is in the hands of gamers.
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