Microsoft is keeping its next-generation Xbox console development plan, dubbed Project Helix, but is reviewing its business model overall. With rising memory and storage prices sharply increasing console manufacturing costs, it is reported to be seeking a new approach to reduce the price burden rather than sticking to a strategy focused on high-performance premium devices.

On June 10, U.S. tech outlet The Verge reported that Microsoft is continuing its next-generation Xbox project but is redesigning its console sales method and pricing structure to fit the current market environment.

Matthew Ball (매슈 볼), head of Xbox strategy, stressed that Project Helix is a console that "will definitely launch". He also said it is reviewing every element to secure a price consumers can afford and sufficient flexibility.

Microsoft has described the next-generation Xbox as a premium console offering top-level performance. But as prices for semiconductors, memory and storage have continued to rise, it appears to have concluded that it has become difficult to sell a high-spec console at a reasonable price.

Asha Sharma (아샤 샤르마), Xbox chief executive officer, also assessed the current hardware market as "an industry-wide crisis" and said it is time to redesign the cost structure itself.

Microsoft is therefore also reviewing a range of console sales methods. Sharma said it is considering new pricing plans and sales structures so more users can join the Xbox ecosystem.

The industry has also raised the possibility that the previously operated Xbox All Access model could return. The service bundled a console with a Game Pass subscription and offered it as a monthly instalment plan, but ended last year after major distributors pulled out. With expanding subscription services emerging as a key task, similar programs could reappear, it said.

Changes are also expected for the Game Pass strategy. Microsoft cut the price of Game Pass Ultimate in April. It recently ran a promotion with Discord to provide Game Pass access to Nitro subscribers. Sharma said it plans to make the Game Pass product lineup more flexible this summer.

Ad-supported free services are also under review. The company has been testing a free Xbox cloud gaming model for more than a year, and the possibility of a service that allows users to play games in exchange for watching ads is also being discussed.

Some analysts say more fundamental changes could come from greater hardware openness. Microsoft is already working with ASUS to develop an Xbox-branded handheld gaming device. Project Helix could also evolve away from the traditional console concept, with a possible direction that blurs the boundary between PC and console.

The industry also sees it as possible for other PC makers to produce Xbox-branded devices using AMD's next-generation chip. That could reduce price burdens through hardware competition and expand consumer choice.

A shift in storage strategy has also been signalled. Sharma said memory and storage will need to be approached in a completely different way going forward. That suggests it is considering cheaper and more widely compatible storage options rather than the closed structure centred on proprietary expansion cards used in the Xbox Series X and S.

These concerns are not limited to Microsoft. Sony has recently seen slower PlayStation 5 sales after raising prices, and Valve has also sharply increased Steam Deck prices. As prices for high-performance gaming devices continue to rise, analysts say the existing console business model itself has faced a challenge.

Ultimately, the success of the next-generation Xbox increasingly appears likely to depend on price and accessibility rather than performance. Microsoft is keeping its plan to launch Project Helix, while envisioning leading changes in the console market through new business models such as subscription-bundled sales, cloud gaming and an open hardware strategy.