There has been a lot of talk lately about what the next Xbox will actually be like, especially with all the rumors about Steam and other stores possibly coming to the Xbox-PC hybrid platform. Now, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has finally spoken about it.
She was asked about the possible arrival of third-party stores like Steam and Epic Games Store on Xbox Helix, especially after earlier comments from Epic Games Store’s Steve Allison. Sharma replied, “I wasn’t part of those conversations, so we’ll make those decisions going forward as a team and with our partners.”
At the same time, Sharma explained that Project Helix is meant to be an “open platform,” giving players more freedom and more ways to play. She did not confirm support for Steam or the Epic Games Store, but she also did not fully rule out the idea, strongly suggesting that Xbox may still be carefully deciding how to handle third-party stores on the new console.
For those who may not know much about Project Helix, it has been described as a “PC-console hybrid,” meaning it should be able to run both Xbox and PC games directly. There were also rumors suggesting that Microsoft might release third-party OEM versions, but VP Jason Ronald recently confirmed that Project Helix will be a first-party device built directly by Microsoft, just like all previous Xbox consoles.
It’s also worth noting that the idea of a “PC-console hybrid” is not new. The initial plan for the original Xbox was to make it a Windows-based PC that looked like a console and was designed for the living room. However, because of the technical limitations at that time, Microsoft could not fully make that idea happen. For more Project Helix related coverage, keep checking GameObserver.
