Xbox eyes handheld in 2027, premium console at $1,800 in 2028

Microsoft is reportedly preparing two major hardware launches: an Xbox handheld in 2027, followed by a next-generation home console in 2028 with a price tag potentially reaching $1,800, according to information relayed by ActuGaming. A compressed timeline over two years, and especially a price point that stands out in a market where PS5 and Switch 2 still play the relative affordability card.

If these figures hold, Xbox would be gearing up for a radical shift: toward unabashed premium hardware, even if it means stepping away from the mainstream audience in favor of a niche able to absorb a price close to that of a high-end gaming PC.

A Price That Breaks With Brand History

Xbox long positioned itself as the affordable alternative to Sony, even selling consoles at a loss during successive launches of the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. A $1,800 price tag for the 2028 generation would completely invert this commercial logic. By comparison, the PS5 Pro launched in late 2024 around $700, and even the most powerful PC configurations equipped with an Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics card rarely exceeded that threshold without factoring in the complete tower build-out.

Such a price only makes sense through a choice of premium architecture, designed to hold up over several years against component inflation and the race for native ray tracing. But it poses a simple question: who, outside of PC gamers already converted to premium setups, would pay that amount for a box under the TV?

The 2027 Handheld: A Late Answer to an Already Crowded Market

The handheld console planned for 2027 would arrive after Switch 2, launched by Nintendo in 2025, and after several generations of devices like Asus ROG Ally or Valve Steam Deck, already well established among mobile gamers. Xbox would therefore not be entering virgin territory, but a segment where user experience and native library already count for much more than raw power alone.

Microsoft's bet would likely rest on Game Pass integration and the Xbox ecosystem rather than on a spec sheet priced higher than the competition at all costs. The reality remains that the company will have to convince on terrain where it currently has no proven portable hardware presence, unlike Nintendo or Valve who already bring multiple years of user feedback to the table.

A Strategic Contradiction Hard to Ignore

For several years now, Xbox has repeated that its strategy is no longer centered on console sales but on distributing its games everywhere: PC, PS5, cloud, Game Pass. Microsoft has thus released previously exclusive titles like Hi-Fi Rush on PS5 and Starfield on PC right at launch, displaying an explicit willingness to prioritize software over hardware.

Launching a home console at $1,800 would directly contradict this narrative. Hardware this expensive can only target an ultra-restricted audience, which would mechanically limit the commercial appeal of continuing to invest in proprietary hardware rather than focusing entirely on software and subscriptions. If Xbox maintains this course, it's likely the brand wants to keep a technological showcase, however marginal, to continue existing as a manufacturer against Sony and Nintendo.

These reports remain officially unconfirmed by Microsoft, and a manufacturer's plans often shift before official announcement. But the mere fact that such a scenario is circulating already says something about the strategic fog surrounding Xbox since the Activision Blizzard absorption and the multiplication of multiplatform releases. A $1,800 console would not be a mass-market product, but a signal sent to investors and technology partners more than to players themselves. For the mainstream audience, the real stakes will play out elsewhere: in Xbox's ability to keep offering its catalog on all platforms, premium console or not.