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Xbox wants its next console to run every Xbox game ever made
We could be so Xback.
Photo by JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP via Getty Images
- Alex Raisbeck
Published: Wednesday, 5 August 2026 at 3:22 pm
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We’re living in an era where retro gaming is perhaps more popular than ever.
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With new releases growing more expensive by the year, plenty of players are looking back to older titles, with remasters and re-releases landing on modern consoles all the time.
And following Xbox’s recent decision to bring some of its older Xbox and Xbox 360 titles to PC, the company is set to take things to the extreme with its next console.
According to information from a leaked memo obtained by The Verge, Xbox wants its next console – codenamed Project Helix – to be capable of playing every game from every Xbox generation.
That means every game ever released on Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and of course future Project Helix titles will be available on the console, should Xbox get its way.
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Now, it should be noted that this doesn’t necessarily mean backwards compatibility. Xbox is considering following Sony’s footsteps in ditching the disc drive entirely, meaning your collection of physical discs may not be getting much use with Helix.
While not mentioned, it also feels safe to assume that any games requiring external peripherals will probably not be making the jump, so apologies to all you Kinect fans out there.
Instead, Xbox is hoping to entice publishers to make their original Xbox titles available on Helix with a series of benefits.
Beyond the potential sales garnered by such a move, Xbox will reportedly manage "all engineering, the bespoke emulator, title-by-title certification and testing, storefront merchandising, and player support."
Publishers, meanwhile, will "keep rights, pricing, and brand control."
From a publisher point of view, this does seem almost too good to be true, with Xbox covering all the cost of the re-release, essentially racking up some free money that they otherwise would not have.
Should this strategy come to pass, it would represent the latest shift towards making Xbox its own ecosystem once more.
With future Xbox titles returning to being console exclusives, and a potential two decades of Xbox games made available to a new audience, it appears Xbox is no longer concerned with selling software over hardware, and is positioning itself for a world in which they will have to work hard to sell consoles, with the next generation poised to cost more than $1000 at launch.
But if it means I get to play Blinx: The Time Sweeper in 4K then it might be a sacrifice we all need to make.
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Authors
Alex RaisbeckGaming writer
Alex Raisbeck is a Gaming Writer at Radio Times, covering everything from AAA giants to indie gems. Alex has written for VideoGamer, GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, PCGamesN and more.
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