Please note that this post is tagged as a rumor.
New Xbox Helix leak narrows custom silicon to CPU and NPU
I guess a hybrid PC/console makes this transition simpler.
With Project Helix Microsoft is taking a more PC-like approach with its next Xbox. Microsoft has already confirmed Helix as the codename for its next-generation console, and Xbox says the system is powered by a custom AMD SoC designed to run both Xbox console and PC games.
Xbox Next with RNDA5 AT2 chiplet
The new detail comes from KeplerL2 on NeoGAF. In March, the leaker said Helix uses a custom SoC for the CPU, NPU, media, and display blocks, while the GPU is the same AT2 chiplet. In a newer post, KeplerL2 added that Microsoft has “0 customization on the GPU side this time.” That points to a standard GPU building block inside a still-custom overall package, not to a fully off-the-shelf console design.
Source: NeoGraf
That also fits Microsoft’s recent messaging. Xbox said last year that it had entered a multi-year agreement with AMD to co-engineer silicon across future consoles, handhelds, PC, and cloud. Xbox said Helix is being co-designed for next-generation DirectX and FSR, while also describing the platform as a bridge between console and PC gaming.
Source: Microsoft
The next Xbox is basically a PC
Such shift could reduce the amount of Xbox-specific GPU tuning developers need to target. Microsoft is already moving in that direction on the software side. The company says it wants a more unified path across console and Windows.
If Helix really uses a standard GPU design instead of a more heavily customized Xbox graphics block, game studios may have an easier time moving projects between PC and Xbox. That would reduce the need for platform-specific GPU optimization and could make ports. Perhaps this means GTA6 for PCs is coming sooner than expected? And yes there were such rumors already.
Source: Kepler_L2 (NeoGraf), NotebookCheck
