"Are You High?" Xbox Co-Creator Picks Nintendo Over Helix

"Are you high? Is there a gas leak over there?" That's Seamus Blackley, co-creator of the original Xbox, responding to a question about why he's more excited about Steam and a hypothetical Nintendo Switch 3 than Microsoft's own next-generation console.

In an interview with The Expansion Pass, Blackley was blunt about his lack of enthusiasm for Project Helix, Xbox's upcoming PC/console hybrid hardware. He described Microsoft as "entirely AI-focused" and questioned how a new game console fits within that mission. "I am vastly more excited about Steam than about Helix. As a gamer, from a content standpoint, as I think everybody would be," he said. "Or, y'know, what's Switch 3 going to be? That's really interesting to me."

On Nintendo specifically, Blackley praised the company's design philosophy even when it stumbles. "Everything that comes out of Nintendo's design department is at least really interesting and cool, even when it fails, right? Even Wii U was interesting and cool. I mean, it was a mess, but it was interesting and cool." The timing here is brutal. This interview landed the same day Xbox CCO Matt Booty appeared on the Official Xbox Podcast talking up how Xbox's hardware and software teams are working "side-by-side" on Helix, with first-party studios involved early on specs and planning.

Booty's pitch is that Xbox's 30 internal studios give it a unique advantage. He pointed to cross-studio collaboration already underway: Blizzard Cinematics helping Playground Games with Fable, Rare supporting Double Fine on Kiln, The Coalition sharing Unreal Engine work with InXile for Clockwork Revolution. Alpha hardware is expected in 2027, according to Xbox VP Jason Ronald.

I get what Blackley is saying, even if it stings for the people actually building Helix. Microsoft has spent the last few years signaling that AI and cloud services are its future, and no amount of "side-by-side" development talk changes the fact that the company's broader priorities sit elsewhere. When the guy who helped create Xbox is telling you he'd rather see what Nintendo does next, that's not a random internet take. It's someone who understands what made Xbox matter in the first place admitting he doesn't see that same energy anymore.