4 ms·

I think it counts as effectively unhackable since it remained unhacked until five and a half years after its successor went on the market. I wonder if, assumin

by nxc18 6mo ago

I think it counts as effectively unhackable since it remained unhacked until five and a half years after its successor went on the market. I wonder if, assuming they continue making Xbox, they find a way to mitigate this in the next generation.

fredoralive 6mo ago
The presentation notes that this hack currently only works with the first revision of silicon. Later variants have more protections, like some anti-glitching tech that wasn’t quite debugged for the early units being enabled for later runs, and further changes with the security / reset subsystems being split into two separate cores with revised consoles like the the One X. So these would be more of a challenge, even if there’s now an angle of attack to investigate.
darknavi 6mo ago
> assuming they continue making Xbox It sounds like that's the plan: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/03/11/project-helix-building-next-generation-of-xbox/ https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/03/11/project-helix-buildin...
- babypuncher 6mo ago
  The new Xbox is going to be a specialized PC running Windows with full access to third party game stores (Steam, Epic, etc). It won't need to be "hacked" because anyone will already be able to run any software they want on it.
  - SteveNuts 6mo ago
    What is the point of a device like this if the only difference is form factor? Why wouldn't someone just buy a pre-configured gaming PC?
    - delecti 6mo ago
      I mean, at that point it is a pre-configured gaming PC. Hardware that's uniform across millions of units provides advantages, both for developers and users. IMO that's a big part of why the Steam Deck outsells more powerful competitors: there are so many of them that it gets targeted by developers, so more people buy them, in a virtuous cycle.
    - mitkebes 6mo ago
      The main goal is money, an Xbox branded windows PC has potential to drive sales. Microsoft can also hopefully target a smoother user experience than a typical windows PC provides. They want this to be a valid console competitor, but just slapping xbox brand on a windows PC isn't enough to do that. Having a first party hardware device to target for PC games can also help devs with having a clear performance target for PCs, similar to how the Steam Deck is currently a minimum spec performance target for a lot of games.
    - ThrowawayB7 6mo ago
      It's a device with a fixed, known-good set of hardware for developers to target, which is all that any of the major consoles is. Your question applies just as much to the Steam Deck and upcoming Steam Machine.
    - axus 6mo ago
      Let's speculate that they need a carrot for Windows developers when they attempt to use a monopoly stick on the Steam Deck.
    - hbn 6mo ago
      There's something to be said for having a standard, known SKU, both as something for developers to target if enough people own it, and for users to troubleshoot if they're e.g. having an issue running X game. This kind of already exists with the "Deck Verified" label on Steam games. That said, this sounds similar to Valve's upcoming Steam Machine and I'd much prefer that to be the standard console/PC hybrid to keep the Linux gaming momentum going, and perhaps one day I can ditch Windows for good.
    - babypuncher 6mo ago
  - glenstein 6mo ago
    A conversation for another day and I can't wait to have it, but something about this seems seriously doomed, because Steam already owns this lane, owns it well, and these days I think Linux is objectively the better desktop for most personal, PC-style use cases. Windows stopped feeling like it meant PC a long time ago, and there's a major risk of the whole Xbox identity disappearing into the PC computing. Probably a conversation for another day but when everything is an Xbox, nothing is an Xbox, and when an Xbox is a PC it might as well be fading away Marty McFly style from our plane of existence. I suppose what would really impress me is a Roku-style omnivore approach that gives a first class console-style experience and interface to Epic, Steam, Itch.io, GOG and of course Xbox.
    - jfim 6mo ago
      You can run steam in big picture mode, and there are ways to add links to games from other game stores to steam such as https://github.com/PhilipK/BoilR https://github.com/PhilipK/BoilR It's not automatic or perfect but it does work.
      - glenstein 6mo ago
        I'm aware, but that is indeed a great thing Steam offers. I think it's janky enough that if there's one way to out-steam Steam it might be making the broader PC gaming universe as plug-and-play into a console experience as possible.
        mywittyname 6mo ago
        Agreed. I have a steam deck and my wife uses big picture mode on a PC. And both are full of jankiness that you don't get with something like the Switch. I actually bought a steam deck expecting a Switch-like experience, and man was I disappointed. Even the streaming is lacking compared to what Sony offers on the PS5. I do wish Valve would spend some of their infinite money on sanding off the rough edges of Steam.
        phatskat 6mo ago
        I think this is still a place that steam does well - sure there is some jank, and definitely things left to be desired, but my two cents: I fired up my…decade old? Steam Link the other day, got steam link clients on my phone, set up a couple steam accounts for my partner and kid, and turned on Wake on LAN on my desktop. The streaming experience is _smooth_ whether it’s my phone or the TV, it Just Works and we can all play from our own libraries anywhere in the house. I do wish Steam would clean up some of the pain points - in particular, not being able to switch users from a Steam Link feels like a huge oversight. I haven’t touched much for gaming in MS’s world outside of just having windows by default, so no Xbox’s around since the 360, and I also really don’t know anyone who uses one. My friends are either PC or Steam, with a handful of us also on Switch. In my world and surrounding orbits, the Xbox is all but a meme at this point
  - aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
    > It won't need to be "hacked" because anyone will already be able to run any software they want on it. The software that I want to run on it is a modified hypervisor. :-)

by nxc18 6mo ago

fredoralive 6mo ago

The presentation notes that this hack currently only works with the first revision of silicon. Later variants have more protections, like some anti-glitching tech that wasn’t quite debugged for the early units being enabled for later runs, and further changes with the security / reset subsystems being split into two separate cores with revised consoles like the the One X. So these would be more of a challenge, even if there’s now an angle of attack to investigate.

darknavi 6mo ago

> assuming they continue making Xbox It sounds like that's the plan: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/03/11/project-helix-building-next-generation-of-xbox/ https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/03/11/project-helix-buildin...

babypuncher 6mo ago
The new Xbox is going to be a specialized PC running Windows with full access to third party game stores (Steam, Epic, etc). It won't need to be "hacked" because anyone will already be able to run any software they want on it.
- SteveNuts 6mo ago
  What is the point of a device like this if the only difference is form factor? Why wouldn't someone just buy a pre-configured gaming PC?
  - delecti 6mo ago
    I mean, at that point it is a pre-configured gaming PC. Hardware that's uniform across millions of units provides advantages, both for developers and users. IMO that's a big part of why the Steam Deck outsells more powerful competitors: there are so many of them that it gets targeted by developers, so more people buy them, in a virtuous cycle.
  - mitkebes 6mo ago
    The main goal is money, an Xbox branded windows PC has potential to drive sales. Microsoft can also hopefully target a smoother user experience than a typical windows PC provides. They want this to be a valid console competitor, but just slapping xbox brand on a windows PC isn't enough to do that. Having a first party hardware device to target for PC games can also help devs with having a clear performance target for PCs, similar to how the Steam Deck is currently a minimum spec performance target for a lot of games.
  - ThrowawayB7 6mo ago
    It's a device with a fixed, known-good set of hardware for developers to target, which is all that any of the major consoles is. Your question applies just as much to the Steam Deck and upcoming Steam Machine.
  - axus 6mo ago
    Let's speculate that they need a carrot for Windows developers when they attempt to use a monopoly stick on the Steam Deck.
  - hbn 6mo ago
    There's something to be said for having a standard, known SKU, both as something for developers to target if enough people own it, and for users to troubleshoot if they're e.g. having an issue running X game. This kind of already exists with the "Deck Verified" label on Steam games. That said, this sounds similar to Valve's upcoming Steam Machine and I'd much prefer that to be the standard console/PC hybrid to keep the Linux gaming momentum going, and perhaps one day I can ditch Windows for good.
  - babypuncher 6mo ago
- glenstein 6mo ago
  A conversation for another day and I can't wait to have it, but something about this seems seriously doomed, because Steam already owns this lane, owns it well, and these days I think Linux is objectively the better desktop for most personal, PC-style use cases. Windows stopped feeling like it meant PC a long time ago, and there's a major risk of the whole Xbox identity disappearing into the PC computing. Probably a conversation for another day but when everything is an Xbox, nothing is an Xbox, and when an Xbox is a PC it might as well be fading away Marty McFly style from our plane of existence. I suppose what would really impress me is a Roku-style omnivore approach that gives a first class console-style experience and interface to Epic, Steam, Itch.io, GOG and of course Xbox.
  - jfim 6mo ago
    You can run steam in big picture mode, and there are ways to add links to games from other game stores to steam such as https://github.com/PhilipK/BoilR https://github.com/PhilipK/BoilR It's not automatic or perfect but it does work.
    - glenstein 6mo ago
      I'm aware, but that is indeed a great thing Steam offers. I think it's janky enough that if there's one way to out-steam Steam it might be making the broader PC gaming universe as plug-and-play into a console experience as possible.
      - mywittyname 6mo ago
        Agreed. I have a steam deck and my wife uses big picture mode on a PC. And both are full of jankiness that you don't get with something like the Switch. I actually bought a steam deck expecting a Switch-like experience, and man was I disappointed. Even the streaming is lacking compared to what Sony offers on the PS5. I do wish Valve would spend some of their infinite money on sanding off the rough edges of Steam.
      - phatskat 6mo ago
        I think this is still a place that steam does well - sure there is some jank, and definitely things left to be desired, but my two cents: I fired up my…decade old? Steam Link the other day, got steam link clients on my phone, set up a couple steam accounts for my partner and kid, and turned on Wake on LAN on my desktop. The streaming experience is _smooth_ whether it’s my phone or the TV, it Just Works and we can all play from our own libraries anywhere in the house. I do wish Steam would clean up some of the pain points - in particular, not being able to switch users from a Steam Link feels like a huge oversight. I haven’t touched much for gaming in MS’s world outside of just having windows by default, so no Xbox’s around since the 360, and I also really don’t know anyone who uses one. My friends are either PC or Steam, with a handful of us also on Switch. In my world and surrounding orbits, the Xbox is all but a meme at this point
- aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
  > It won't need to be "hacked" because anyone will already be able to run any software they want on it. The software that I want to run on it is a modified hypervisor. :-)