Xbox CEO: Shortages to Impact Next-Gen Console Pricing

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed that ongoing global shortages of memory chips, driven by demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, will affect the pricing and availability of the company's next-generation console, codenamed Project Helix. Speaking in a recent interview, Sharma declined to provide a launch timeline, citing a dynamic market environment, while noting that development kits will ship to developers in 2027.

Project Helix represents Microsoft's successor to the Xbox Series X and S. Sharma emphasized that the console is designed to play both traditional Xbox games and PC titles. "Memory costs will impact pricing, will impact availability," she said. "As we think about being where the world plays, we will take that into consideration. So we're not ready to share a launch timeline right now. The world's pretty dynamic. My number one focus, though, is to focus on what's in our control, build a great console to play great games, including your PC games."

The memory crisis stems from surging demand for DRAM and NAND flash memory, primarily fueled by the expansion of AI data centers. This has tightened supply chains and driven up component prices across consumer...