Xbox CEO Asha Sharma vows to lower Project Helix price

Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma said she will pursue product and business changes to lower consumer prices for Project Helix, citing rising memory and storage costs that have pushed up hardware expenses across the industry.

“I think it’s expensive if we do not innovate,” Sharma said, adding that she joined Xbox to address escalating component costs rather than accept higher retail prices as the only response.

She noted that growing demand from artificial intelligence workloads has increased pressure on memory and storage pricing, affecting console makers and other device manufacturers.

Sharma described her first 100 days at Xbox as a period of listening and launching a “revive Xbox” effort. She said the next 100 days will focus on “resetting the business” to restore growth and improve performance.

“The biggest challenge and opportunity is how do you make affordable products during that time, and that’s what the next 100 days is going to be about,” she added.

Sharma said the company will rethink product design, monetization and go-to-market approaches rather than rely solely on higher hardware prices to cover rising component costs.

Xbox confirmed it will speak publicly about its next console later in 2026 but will not present details at the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase. When asked about Project Helix’s physical size, Sharma declined to provide specifics and responded with a joke.

Industry suppliers report upward pressure on memory and storage pricing, in part because of higher demand for AI applications, and hardware makers are adjusting designs and pricing strategies in response.