- Microsoft revealed new details about its upcoming 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 capabilities.
Following the reveal of Project Helix earlier this month, Microsoft has shared some of the console’s specifications that will deliver next-gen performance.
During a special keynote at GDC 2026 (thanks, IGN), Jason Ronald, vice president of next generation at Microsoft, gave a deep dive into the upcoming PC/console hybrid Xbox, promising “an order of magnitude improvement” on ray tracing performance.
“The entire console design is about paving the way for 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 your games on Xbox console and PC, delivering high performance and providing the ultimate player experience.”
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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 deliver 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 capabilities, beyond what is currently possible with Xbox Series
“It also unlocks the execution of GPU-directed working graphics, eliminating CPU bottlenecks, meaning the GPU can actually generate its own workload in real time, providing a huge performance boost 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, the Helix project “is truly designed for the next generation of neuro-assisted rendering”, and “we have reached some of the limits of what is possible with traditional rendering techniques, and if we want to continue to advance the state of the art, we need to invent entirely new technology.”
“The key thing is how we integrate the next version of AMD FSR into the Helix project and into the Xbox Game SDK. And that’s 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 think about the whole new generation of ML-based multiframes. And there are even new features like a whole new ray regeneration technique that is really designed to provide high-performance ray tracing for real-time ray tracing and path tracing.”
During the keynote, Ronald also confirmed that Microsoft plans to provide alpha versions of the hardware to developers starting in 2027, suggesting that it will likely be a while before the console gets into the hands of gamers.
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