Next Xbox priced up to $1,800, Fight Night returns, and Game Pass faces a redesign

Microsoft's next console, reportedly codenamed Project Helix, is shaping up to be an expensive proposition. Multiple reports place its launch window around Christmas 2028, with pricing potentially ranging from $1,200 to $1,800 without subsidies — figures that will raise eyebrows given ongoing concern about next-generation costs across the industry. Push Square notes the next Xbox could match or exceed whatever PS6 ends up costing, which is already a worry for players watching hardware prices climb.

Xbox Game Pass may also look quite different by then. A reported overhaul would shift the service toward an à la carte model, letting subscribers pay separately for add-ons including multiplayer — a significant structural change from the current bundled approach. Separate from the subscription news, Microsoft used an ID@Xbox showcase to announce eight indie titles coming to Game Pass, including Arctic Eggs, Mouthwashing, and No, I'm Not a Human. A surprise Fallout 4 expansion called Fallout 4: FEVer Dreams also quietly dropped.

EA Sports is officially reviving its Fight Night boxing series, with a new game teased following a formal announcement that the dormant franchise is returning. The news lands as Steam Next Fest is drawing criticism for becoming unwieldy, with concerns about its long-term viability as a discovery tool. Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead is also flagging potential mod breakage as it transitions to a new anti-cheat system, with negative Steam reviews already piling up in response.