The next-generation Xbox and the PlayStation 6 are heading in different directions, which may also bring changes to Xbox game development.
The next-generation Xbox, codenamed Project Helix, will reportedly abandon the traditional console SKU in favor of a PC-style architecture designed to run games released on the Windows Store. According to SneakersSO, who correctly predicted the Xbox‘s multiplatform transition before the official announcement, the upcoming platform will emulate the console experience using an enhanced Windows Full Screen Experience.
This change also means that exclusive games will almost certainly never return. Since the system will reportedly resemble the Xbox ROG Ally “set-top box” in every respect, it’s clear that Microsoft understands Project Helix will be an expensive, niche product. Despite the system’s limited appeal, SneakersSO clarified that Microsoft and the new Xbox leadership will continue developing such a product due to the resources already committed.
“This is basically a PC that uses the Windows Full Screen Experience (FSE) that we just saw in the ROG Ally X to emulate a console experience. The ‘native’ Xbox SKU had an updated build target for which developers were building games, but that’s going away. There’s no Xbox Helix build target – it’s just a UWP build. You’re just shipping a game for the Windows Store. You still have access to your Xbox library thanks to BC emulation. As far as having a ‘native’ Xbox console SKU that you built your game towards, though, that’s done. They’re going to use the lack of sales as the final nail in the coffin to shut down the hardware portion of the business. They know the forecast, and they’re under no illusion that this will be an Xbox 360 moment. This has nothing to do with the new leadership. She’s literally walking in a direction that was set up long before she was ever considered. She’s seeing it through because funds have already been committed to it,” the insider wrote on the NeoGAF forums.
Since Xbox Project Helix exclusives do not fit this setup, it increasingly looks like this machine will never compete directly with the PlayStation 6 – whose primary rival could end up being the Steam Machine instead. Still, with the system reportedly being very powerful, it will be interesting to see how Microsoft balances peak performance with a premium price tag, and whether it can build a loyal enthusiast audience.
https://www.reddit.com/r/xbox/comments/1rnit0d/xbox_consoles_use_a_containerisation_technology/
There is, however, a slight snag in the story. UWP became obsolete in 2019, and the Xbox Series X uses container technology for backward compatibility, system resource management, and features such as Quick Resume. That would make SneakersSO’s information inaccurate – unless Xbox Project Helix handles software differently than its predecessors.
Source: WCCFTech, NeoGAF, Microsoft
