XBOX Project Helix LIVE: Official XBOX statement on Game Pass rumours

XBOX statement on Game Pass rumours

XBOX has shared a statement with Forbes' Paul Tassi about rumours Game Pass may change to no longer have day one releases available and with new tiers including one with ads and one without.

An XBOX spokesperson told Tassi: "We regularly test different Game Pass offerings and look at what works best for players in different markets.

"We don’t have any changes to announce today or plans that have been finalised.

"There are no changes to previously announced games coming to Game Pass Ultimate on day one."

Huge Game Pass changes 'revealed'

Huge changes coming to XBOX's Game Pass subscription model have been 'revealed' by someone understood to have insider information.

Slayven, a ResetEra forum moderator, posted: "One service with ads, one without. Ads tier will cost $12.99 a month. Game Pass without ads will cost $19.99 per month or $239.99 annually.

"They are reducing price by $3 because there won't be day one new games releasing on the service starting February - April.

"Cloud streaming no longer part of Game Pass subscription. Cloud streaming is an add-on bundle costs $5.99 for 25hrs.

"Family plan is going to be an additional $5.99 / month. You can also select ONLY access to Game Pass library with online MP for $14.99 / month.

"New games no longer release day one on Game Pass. Complete change of tiers, Online MP will be its own subscription for $10.99 a month."

Commenting on this, renowned insider NateTheHate added: "Slayven previously shared Game Pass information about the tier changes - to Core / Standard - in late 2025; so the individual giving them information clearly has knowledge of some matters. Whether the intended timeline stays true or slides about, we'll learn in due time.

To be clear, these Game Pass changes are currently speculation as nothing has been officially confirmed at the time of writing.

XBOX CEO Asha Sharma visits Kojima Productions

XBOX CEO Asha Sharma paid a visit to Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions.

XBOX and Kojima Productions recently entered a brand new partnership to not only work on the upcoming game Physint together but also across TV and movie projects.

Sharma was also photographed signing the signboard at Kojima Productions, writing: "To invention and adventure together with XBOX."

XBOX CEO Asha Sharma 'responds to customer support tickets'

A new report says XBOX CEO Asha Sharma spends hours each month responding to player tickets personally.

A Wall Street Journal profile of her said: "To better understand players, she spends a few hours each month responding to customer support tickets, during which she's learned how complex it can be to fix a single player's problem."

In the piece, Stan Chudnovskuy who was Sharma's boss at Meta described her as "very intense" and that "she works very hard and she expects the people around her to work very hard as well".

New next-gen games revealed, likely playable on XBOX Project Helix

Blizzard has confirmed two new games that are in development and will release in the coming years which are highly likely to be available on XBOX Project Helix - if the console has launched.

At BlizzCon, it was confirmed Diablo 5 has a release window of 2029 with an open-world StarCraft shooter on the way in 2030.

There's speculation XBOX Project Helix could release as soon as Spring 2027 with further rumours claiming the hardware will release later next year or in 2028.

There is very little speculation new Project Helix hardware would launch beyond 2028 at this time.

As Blizzard is owned by XBOX, that means both Diablo 5 and the new StarCraft title would be all but certain for Project Helix but this is currently unconfirmed.