Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Suggests Next-Gen Xbox Will Be Windows PC and Console Hybrid

Xbox executives and recent reports have suggested that the next generation of Xbox consoles will be closer to a PC running on Windows with an Xbox interface. Now, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, too, has said that the company is looking at a hybrid PC/console approach for the next Xbox and “revisit” the idea of a console as a PC.

The chief executive's comments on Microsoft's gaming division came during a TBPN livestream on Tuesday, where he discussed Xbox's shift to multiplatform strategy and the next Xbox hardware, among other things.

In recent updates, Xbox leadership has suggested that the next Xbox home console would be similar in approach to the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, with Windows at the heart of the device. Nadella, too, sought to emphasise Microsoft's focus on PC gaming with Windows, suggesting a unified future for Xbox and Windows.

“Remember, the biggest gaming business is the Windows business,” Nadella said during the interview. “To us, gaming on Windows — and of course, Steam has built a massive marketplace on top of it and done a very successful job of it.

The ROG Xbox Ally X runs Windows with an Xbox interface
Photo Credit: Microsoft/ Asus

Xbox Games on All Platforms

The Xbox parent has acquired multiple studios over the years, including major publishing and development behemoths like Bethesda and more recently Activision. Since 2024, the company has abandoned its exclusive strategy and sought to launch more of its first-party games, both old and new, on rival platforms like PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

Nadella said that Microsoft was now looking at gaming from the point of view of a publisher that intends to bring its games to all platforms, not just Xbox.

“To us, the way we're thinking about gaming is, first of all, now we're the largest publisher, after the Activision [acquisition],” Nadella said. “So, therefore we want to be a fantastic publisher, similar approach to what we did with Office,” he added.

“We're going to be everywhere, on every platform. So, we want to make sure, whether it's consoles, whether it's the PC, whether it's mobile, whether it's cloud gaming, or the TV. So, we just want to make sure the games are being enjoyed by gamers everywhere.

Next Xbox and Windows PC

Nadella waded into discussion over Microsoft's approach for the next Xbox console, as well. After Xbox executives Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond hinted at the platform's Windows-centric future, a Windows Central report last week claimed that the next-gen Xbox console would be Windows-based, capable of running PC games across multiple storefronts. Nadella suggested the company was looking at the next Xbox as a console/PC hybrid.

“Second, we also want to do innovative work on the system side on the console and on the PC. It's kind of funny that people think about the console, PC as two different things. We built the console because we wanted to build a better PC, which could then perform for gaming. So, I kind of want to revisit some of that conventional wisdom.

“But at the end of the day, the console has an experience that is unparalleled. It delivers performance that is unparalleled, that pushes, I think, the system forward. So, I'm really looking forward to the next console, the next PC gaming.”

Nadella's comments follow Xbox president Sarah Bond saying earlier this month that the next Xbox would be a “very premium, very high-end curated experience”. Bond, in an interview following the launch of the ROG Xbox Ally and the Xbox Ally X, said the new handhelds would in part guide the thinking behind the next Xbox home console, suggested a Windows-centric future for Xbox.

The next-generation Xbox console is believed to be targeting a 2027 launch.