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PayPalThe new CEO of of Microsoft Gaming, Asha Sharma, confirmed something that has been widely speculated for a while that could be bad news for the Steam Machine.
Writing in a post on X/Twitter, Sharma said:
Great start to the morning with Team Xbox, where we talked about our commitment to the return of Xbox including Project Helix, the code name for our next generation console.
Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games. Looking forward to chatting about this more with partners and studios at my first GDC next week!
So it's now very much official - whatever the next Xbox turns out to be, you'll be able to play PC games on it as well. Which likely includes Steam, Epic Games and so on. This puts it more in direction competition with Valve's upcoming Steam Machine. And is no doubt one of the reasons that Sony with the PlayStation are pulling back on PC ports.
While Valve struggle to even get the Steam Machine and Steam Frame released, Microsoft clearly have some big plans there that could eat into it. If there's the possibility to buy a reasonably priced and powerful machine with a TV-focused interface that plays both Xbox and PC games, I imagine at least some on the fence about the Steam Machine may now be reconsidering.
The Steam Machine will still have a lot of pros though - with it being a completely open platform like the Steam Deck where you can do quite literally anything with it. But, that's not going to be enough to sway people if the pricing is too high.
Hopefully Valve will get some pricing info up on the Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller soon - time is ticking down for it.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Dawe
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
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From the consumer standpoint that is a clear win for consumers, having more universal devices that are not tied to only one platform is always a win. If the Project Helix will be as open as Steam Machine I don't have anything against it, although I really doubt it will be like that.
But as a Linux enthusiast I hope the Steam Machine will win this race!
But as a Linux enthusiast I hope the Steam Machine will win this race!
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If it indeed includes Steam support, then it's not really bad news for Valve - and if it doesn't, then it's not a real competition to Steam Deck Machine. Gaben wins either way, lol.
Last edited by pb on 6 Mar 2026 at 10:20 am UTC
Last edited by pb on 6 Mar 2026 at 10:20 am UTC
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Microsoft has already said this will be a "premium" device. They're not even going to try to make it affordable, so I'm thinking $1,000 or more. I do suspect, however, that they'll allow third-party manufacturers to make cheaper versions, just like they do with handhelds.
The reasons people leave Windows won't change, and it'll probably get worse now that the head of their AI division is taking over Xbox.
The real danger is Microsoft pulling some anti competitive moves. They are one of the AI companies that bought up all the RAM and forced the prices up, and Nadella said they had a surplus. They could turn around and put that RAM into their Xboxen at no cost. They could also try to sabotage Proton or pull some other shady stuff.
The reasons people leave Windows won't change, and it'll probably get worse now that the head of their AI division is taking over Xbox.
The real danger is Microsoft pulling some anti competitive moves. They are one of the AI companies that bought up all the RAM and forced the prices up, and Nadella said they had a surplus. They could turn around and put that RAM into their Xboxen at no cost. They could also try to sabotage Proton or pull some other shady stuff.
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I don't think the Steam Machine will age that well spec-wise. Low-end RDNA3 basically means bad raytracing, bad upscaling and only 8GB VRAM. Whatever the next Xbox will be will completely outclass this thing. Not to mentioned they don't have to worry about anti-cheat.
The only thing that Valve can really offer here is lower price and earlier availability. If they manage to launch a year earlier, they could snatch away some potential marketshare and establish their niche in the console space. For the right price of course.
But if they wait too long now, I fear they might miss their chance here.
The only thing that Valve can really offer here is lower price and earlier availability. If they manage to launch a year earlier, they could snatch away some potential marketshare and establish their niche in the console space. For the right price of course.
But if they wait too long now, I fear they might miss their chance here.
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GustyGhost 11 hours ago
Quoting: melkemindThey could also try to sabotage Proton or pull some other shady stuff.While PC gaming continues growing beyond predictions, this is no doubt a move to protect the moat. It is one of the dangers of having normalized translation layers like Proton. Microsoft remains in the position to say 'jump' and any translation tool has no choice but to follow.
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As someone who lived for a bit, I'm always worried when I see Microsoft doing something to appeal to people. Their history of embrace, extend, extinguish is quite the marvelous thing.
My personal stance on this is no more closed systems, no lock-ins, no local restrictions. We don't know yet, but I very much doubt this new device will check all this, or if it does, for how long.
But I'm afraid a lot of people will flock to this (assuming MS don't utterly sabotage itself in the meantime).
My personal stance on this is no more closed systems, no lock-ins, no local restrictions. We don't know yet, but I very much doubt this new device will check all this, or if it does, for how long.
But I'm afraid a lot of people will flock to this (assuming MS don't utterly sabotage itself in the meantime).
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Quoting: melkemindThey are one of the AI companies that bought up all the RAM and forced the prices up, and Nadella said they had a surplus. They could turn around and put that RAM into their Xboxen at no cost. They could also try to sabotage Proton or pull some other shady stuff.Leave it to M$ to come up with new ways to get sued for monopolistic practices. 😤
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I mean, this is xbox we are talking about here ... It's a dumpster fire of epic proportions in almost every single aspect right now (for a long time?). Their glorious new ai overlord boss announcing something like this means absolutely nothing whatsoever. I would wager she just yesterday learned about some vague plans for this "project helix" that Phil had cooking, and today wanted to get some kind of announcement out to detract from all the negative bad press xbox and microsoft have been getting.
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It’s always funny to me to see companies getting excited about selling a console that’s going to be a little closer to a desktop computer. Meanwhile I’m here with my desktop computer playing more games than their console will ever support on top of doing everything else.
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This is MS, where is the AI? It needs an AI agent and other AI stuff!!
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Quoting: BumadarThis is MS, where is the AI? It needs an AI agent and other AI stuff!!See Xbox Gaming Copilot. It's already there on handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally.
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Quoting: whizseOoh phew!!! I was worried there 😂Quoting: BumadarThis is MS, where is the AI? It needs an AI agent and other AI stuff!!See Xbox Gaming Copilot. It's already there on handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally.
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I don't see this reverting Xbox trajectory. I witnessed two hardcore Xbox friends of mine jump chip to PlayStation.
At this time in videogame history, it is crystal clear that what attract consumers is not the hardware alone, is the games. Since the Xbox executives think they don't need exclusive games to make a profit, we can expect the brand to just dilute itself into nothing in the incoming years.
At this time in videogame history, it is crystal clear that what attract consumers is not the hardware alone, is the games. Since the Xbox executives think they don't need exclusive games to make a profit, we can expect the brand to just dilute itself into nothing in the incoming years.
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Caldathras 3 hours ago
Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games.
Strange to assume that this means the machine will open the ecosystem to Steam, Epic Games and such. M$ can achieve this statement simply by allowing owners of this new Xbox console to purchase the PC games through the Microsoft Store. No need to give competitors access to their closed market.
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It's definitely an interesting move away from the traditional console
You don't really get console "generations" like we use to, when a new console offered a generational difference in terms of what games could do, it's more incremental increases, higher res, higher fps, better raytracing
For me personally I'm not as bothered by having raw performance anymore, or playing xbox games, as I tend to mostly play indie or older titles.. affordability is the main attraction for me
Last edited by Doktor-Mandrake on 6 Mar 2026 at 6:50 pm UTC
You don't really get console "generations" like we use to, when a new console offered a generational difference in terms of what games could do, it's more incremental increases, higher res, higher fps, better raytracing
For me personally I'm not as bothered by having raw performance anymore, or playing xbox games, as I tend to mostly play indie or older titles.. affordability is the main attraction for me
Last edited by Doktor-Mandrake on 6 Mar 2026 at 6:50 pm UTC
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Quoting: Doktor-MandrakeYou don't really get console "generations" like we use to, when a new console offered a generational difference in terms of what games could do, it's more incremental increases, higher res, higher fps, better raytracingThe next generation of consoles will feature AI that plays games for you and they will advertise it as a replacement for twitch and youtube. Why watch some random dudes play games when you can have your best friend Cortana play the game before your very eyes, all the while unlocking accolades on your account.
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Quoting: whizseI'm not at all surprised, a lot of people want to bet spoon-fed every time they get stuck for more than 30 seconds, I say it will be quite popular. ([for reference](https://www.xbox.com/en-US/gaming-copilot))Quoting: BumadarThis is MS, where is the AI? It needs an AI agent and other AI stuff!!See Xbox Gaming Copilot. It's already there on handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally.
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Quoting: pbReading this reminds me of the xbox one launch lolQuoting: Doktor-MandrakeYou don't really get console "generations" like we use to, when a new console offered a generational difference in terms of what games could do, it's more incremental increases, higher res, higher fps, better raytracingThe next generation of consoles will feature AI that plays games for you and they will advertise it as a replacement for twitch and youtube. Why watch some random dudes play games when you can have your best friend Cortana play the game before your very eyes, all the while unlocking accolades on your account.
"TV"
"Streaming"
More TV, and then some more streaming
"Sports"
Yeah OK xbox, but where's the fun games to get excited about?!
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Quoting: pbWhy watch some random dudes play games when you can have your best friend Cortana play the game before your very eyes, all the while unlocking accolades on your account.Not sure if Xbox Gaming Copilot support that at the moment, but when it does it would be ironic as heck, considering they had a feature called [Xbox Copilot](https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/account-profile/accessibility/copilot) that would let your human best friend do exactly that! 😄
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