Xbox Boss Says Affordability Is the Problem for the Next Console

Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma says the company must be "thinking about" affordability for its next-generation console, citing a "crisis" in computing prices.

Rising hardware costs, driven partly by AI spending, mean gaming companies need to find ways to keep consoles within reach, she told the BBC.

The collision nobody planned

This is the console business meeting the AI buildout. Memory, silicon and manufacturing capacity are being bid up by data centre demand, and a games console is a low-margin device sold at or near cost on the expectation of recovering the difference through software.

That model does not tolerate component inflation well, which is why affordability is now a design constraint rather than a marketing message.

Your disc collection, digitised

Sharma also revealed that players will soon be able to obtain digital versions of many physical games they already own — meaning old titles could run on future consoles without a disc drive.

"I know players love physical media, and I know there's a lot of benefits in digital media, and I want to make sure people have a choice," she said.

The context is an industry moving the other way. Sony has said new PlayStation games will not ship on discs from January 2028, and Grand Theft Auto VI is launching without a physical release.

The main argument for discs was always resale: a disc can be sold second-hand, a licence cannot. Converting a collection to digital preserves access to the games while quietly ending that, which is why the announcement reads as both a concession and a transition.