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# $1200-$1800 For A Console Is Such Commercial Suicide I Can't Even Muster A 'Get The Fuck Outta Here' About The News
- URL: https://aftermath.site/xbox-helix-next-console-1200-1800-dollar-price/
- Published: 2026-10-20T23:27:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-20T23:40:52.000Z
- Description: We're all being driven off the cliff
- Author: Luke Plunkett
- Tags: Video Games, xbox, microsoft, asha sharma, project helix, helix

The world has[ today](https://fortune.com/2026/10/20/the-non-gamer-ceo-racing-to-save-microsofts-xbox/?ref=aftermath.site) been subjected to[ yet *another* oddball Asha Sharma profile in a mainstream outlet](https://aftermath.site/xbox-asha-sharma-interview-new-york-times/), and while there's nothing left to say about how pointlessly fawning these pieces are (though this one does at least raise some critical questions), there *is* something to say about some reporting on Microsoft's next console (codenamed 'Helix') tucked away within Fortune's piece.

It's not pretty:

> As it stands, the price of the Helix console has internally been projected to cost consumers between $1,200 and $1,800, unless Microsoft decides to subsidize the cost.

When you combine the rolling impact of a cost-of-living crisis,[ the diminishing visual and performance returns from each console generation since the original Xbox](https://aftermath.site/ps5-pro-price/), the scarcity of Xbox-exclusive games as AAA costs spiral out of control, the prospect of even *more* [layoffs at Microsoft-owned studios](https://aftermath.site/xbox-layoffs-july/) (something the Fortune article also [reports](https://fortune.com/2026/10/20/the-non-gamer-ceo-racing-to-save-microsofts-xbox/?ref=aftermath.site)) and the[ poor sales performance of the Series S/X](https://www.vgchartz.com/article/468791/ps5-vs-xbox-series-sales-comparison-july-2026/?ref=aftermath.site), which launched at just $499, you are looking at a business proposition that's so cataclysmic it's insane to me that Microsoft is even still committed to the *idea* of this console, let alone speaking about it publicly.

There is no timeline or universe where, given the economy and industry that we're operating within, that a $1200-1800 console is anything but a historic disaster. Even a "subsidized" $1000 machine (and it’s important to note many consoles have been [subsidized](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c043y6rr7z3o?ref=aftermath.site) by [manufacturers ](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/10/26/microsofts-phil-spencer-gaming-somewhat-resilient-to-weak-economy.html?ref=aftermath.site)previously) would cost *twice* what the *current* Xbox console launched at.

It's been less than a month since[ I published a joke post about Sony and Microsoft's only path to survival in these tumultuous times being re-releasing old consoles](https://aftermath.site/ps2-xbox-re-release-old-hardware-dreamcast-2-video-game-crash/), but if these companies are serious about dropping four-figure hardware on an ailing market, then maybe it's not such a joke post after all.