Xbox Handheld: Everything We Know So Far, Including The Latest Rumours

Gotta be honest, I doubt it ever materializes, not only because Xbox is a dying mess right now but there’s a reason why Sony hasn’t done it too, game development would be a huge problem if all developers have to account for a powerful home console plus a weaker handheld, as the weaker hardware becomes the base and all development would have to be compatible with both, we’ve already seen devs struggle with the Series S and a a handheld would logically be much more limited, plus the market by then is going to be dominated by Switch 2.
And the old model of maintaining 2 separate platforms with different libraries is just not sustainable nowadays.

I think all this will end up in one third-party handheld such as the Rog Ally to be “licensed” by Microsoft and serve as an Xbox handheld after their next-console launches, so we’re talking about the Z3 generation of PC handhelds, an at this rate who knows if Xbox would even be around by then.

Everything’s an Xbox, isn’t it? So my guess is that the Xbox handheld conveniently releases on the very day that the Switch 2 arrives!! 😅 Honestly though, I think that would actually have been a great idea, let Nintendo do what they do best and broker a deal to allow a Microsoft only Gamepass on to the system because I just don’t see an Xbox themed console doing too much nowadays unfortunately.

I'd love being able to keep playing my Xbox games off-TV without depending on internet connection, but I think it's very unlikely that such a device would come into existence. Hope I'm proved wrong, though.

I say it will drop next year sometime but I'm not really interested in any handheld gaming when I have a big 4k TV and a series x!!

As long as its not totally locked in like the Switch 2 it will be a day one purchase, after owning the Ally which gives you access to PC, Xbox and PS5 games being locked in to just one companies First Party games seems like a giant step backwards.

Hm sure it will be great.. I think its just a question of when we are going to see it . Hope regulators will approve it as as I guess its the only threat to Ms atm

Ohterwise everything is set bascially I guess

@IOI developers will go where the money/players are. So if Xbox makes a handheld and it's a success developers will follow. The question is will such a device be a success should it materialize. That's likely what Microsoft is considering as well

Like I said in other post, for the next xbox to make a impact, they need an eye catcher, it needs to be a handheld with a docking station that converts it to a next gen powerhouse console, but on the go its a lighter version of itself that you will still be able to keep playing, similar to the Switch, but with next generation power. I thought about it when I connected my handheld pc to my laptop docking station to play Indiana Jones on the monitor with a xbox controller. Handheld pcs are getting more powerful so take an Xbox handheld and add that with a docking station that contains a next gen graphics card to hook up to your 85 inch 4k or 8k display and this comes togetheras one console, I think it will work, some pretty good games already play well on the handheld pcs and with a external graphics card connected they play even better, now make that into a console/docking station. Xbox anywhere is good because i use it but this will be the Xbox itself going anywhere and no worrying about compatibility issues. They will lose money in the beginning because it still needs to be reasonably priced, but it's Microsoft its use to losing money. there's still time to work this out before the unveiling of the next generation consoles

This article seems kind of pointless right now considering we have no news other than they are potentially making one.

Personally I can't see any Xbox handheld being anything more than a Gamepass streaming device. I don't see why they would invest it making a device that can play games locally when their main aim now seems to be getting any and all devices that can stream Xbox games to do that. I wouldn't be surprised if an Xbox app comes out on Switch 2 now as they seem to want to have a strong relationship with Nintendo going forward.

At this point just put game pass on the switch and do a long term Colab with Nintendo …. Idk why Xbox needs a portable when there’s the steam deck and Lg

If Microsoft is planning on bringing its games to other platforms including Nintendo Switch 2, what could this mean for the future of Xbox and the Xbox handheld?

They are too late in the game unfortunately.

Switch 2, steam deck and so much choice with windows handheld PCs now, now some of those are with steam OS.
I doubt MS handleld will run better that steam deck. And obviously they cant beat switch 2 with games and options it provides to play.
The only advantage I see is good GP integration. Which is kinda cool for all the indies that GP have.

Seems like next xbox and handheld are devices for purely GP enthusiasts. Which is fine I guess, GP pretty much can get you covered. However if you want to have more choice and play enough games outside of GP: switch 2 or PC or PS5 is better choice

@IOI I think they still do next xbox and handheld but if (when) it doesnt fly, they will shrug and say “we tried so hard but no one is buying hardware, we are out”.
They need more time to port games properly, prepare all studious to launch day 1 on PS/switch2 and expand on cloud. Meanwhile they kinda have to do hardware.
So I think next 5 years or so we will have it. Then they are done completely

@Zenszulu i think thats the sole purpose of handheld and next xbox - GP.
And its cool in its own way. GP has a really solid lineup these days.
But yeah outside of GP, competition is way stronger.

Never heard anything about xbox app on switch. There was some info (dont remember rumour or official) that they tried to launch GP on PS and N and failed.

They will probably release Xbox Prime with an optional Xbox Prime Go for gamers who want a handheld version of the console.

Well, the handheld becomes kind of obsolete if Microsoft puts all games on Switch and Steamdeck? Am I in the wrong?

Curious which unique features they’ll try to sell the handheld with.

It’s going to be tough to compete against Switch 2, which is going to be firmly established in the market by the time this releases and will have access to both Nintendo and Xbox games. Steam Deck 2 will also have access to both Xbox and PlayStation games. The only way I see this being viable is if it also plays Steam games, so that you can get access to Sony’s portfolio just as the current Windows handheld PCs do. That would be a compelling device.

@IOI "devs struggle with the Series S and as a handheld would logically be much more limited"

A handheld years after the S was introduced could arguably have the power of the S. If so, it could have a huge library of games ready to go.

So much reference to the steam deck in the comments here. As a gamer, A multiplatform owner(Nintendo, Sony, MSFT, PC, Steamdeck, etc..) the steamdeck has probably gotten the least amount of use. Its akward and bulky. Battery life is poor and the screen subpar compared to alternatives. My PS portal gets far more use, as does my switch oled.

I was an early adopter to the steamdeck and love what its done for the segment, but if thats the gold standard for people in handhelds, we have a lot of improvement to go before its really ready for mainstream.

@Rog-X Id also argue exclusives are an old way of thinking when buying a console. I much prefer the OS, quality of online service platform, controllers, and other console specific features when looking at consoles. Its why the Series X is still preferred to me over my PS5 Pro. The OS features are just better on the xbox.

@Nobigwoo I really, really don’t think an Xbox handheld has such success that developers will flock to the platform, for instance by then the Switch 2 will be dominating handhelds with some Xbox ported games, making it worthless to get an Xbox handheld (same thing in home consoles with the PS5), plus Xbox marketing sucks incredibly bad, if they ever do release it you just know it’s gonna have a terrible name and they won’t market it, and if Sony decides to venture in the same market it’d effectively kill any possibility of success for Xbox.

By some context the Steam Deck which is universally praised has sold little more than 5 million units, an Xbox handheld could have even lower sales.

There is no reason whatsoever to buy an "Xbox" handheld, by the time such a thing exists, there will be countless PC handhelds that play all of Xbox's games as well as many, many others

@IOI The question is: Would people prefer an Xbox handheld that can only play Xbox games, or a competitor (like a PlayStation handheld that can, Steam Deck, ROG Ally or even the Switch 2) that plays other games alongside Xbox games? Sony might have a better chance with a new PlayStation handheld than Microsoft does with an Xbox handheld, especially with Xbox no longer doing exclusives.

@Runex2121 same. I think its a great device overall but I did not find any realistic scenario to use it enough.

I think overall Pc handhelds are very niche market for enthusiasts. Most of people are ok with mobile + switch for portable gaming.
Switch 2 definitely gonna be a new king

@MrCarlos46 based on rumours it will be more of a windows pc handheld that also has custom OS with GP integration. So it should play steam games and others while also having an xbox store and GP.

The problem is lenovo or rog ally or whatever can do it already. I think what MS wants is this custom OS that gives more native feels like steam os but for Ms services/store. I think its an interesting idea but will be very niche market, likely for people with PC/xbox and GP as a portable extension of that

@Millionski So some sort of OS similar to the Xbox OS?

@Millionski yea maybe they can get away for a gamepass on ps5 and switch if it only has Xbox games

I have absolutely no interest in buying an Xbox handheld as I just play games on my Series X at home.

All these fools saying Xbox is dying are obviously brainwashed or something. Xbox is extremely profitable for Microsoft and has been for quite sometime. In the first 9 months of FY2022, Xbox had an accountability margin of over $1.5 billion. This mean xbox's revenue minus its costs resulted in a profit margin around 12%. This profit has only increased over the last 3 years with Xbox revenue in FY2024 reaching over $7 billion. They are continuing to make money from Xbox.

Also, Xbox has over 100 million active users across its Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles as well as PC. That number is nothing to sneeze at and it's only growing thanks to brilliant strategic planning with Xbox cloud gaming. Those 100 million+ players are actively buying and playing games on Xbox services which results in great profits for Microsoft.

As far as a gaming handheld goes, I absolutely believe Xbox will release a dedicated gaming handheld. They've seen first hand how successful the switch was and how people are willing to buy steam decks and Asus ROG Ally in order to play their game libraries on the go. Xbox is an EXCELLENT position to use its brilliant ecosystem to bring a dedicated gaming experience to a handheld console.

If Xbox can deliver a handheld gaming console that costs around $399 and can play entire Xbox libraries (which is absolutely in the realm of possibilities thanks to the excellent work the Xbox team did in regards to backwards compatibility).

Also, if Xbox were to team up with AMD for their gaming handheld chipset it would allow for an easier transition to get their Xbox libraries running on a handheld. Also the APU featured in an Xbox handheld will most definitely be a successor to the AMD Z2 Extreme APU which is already fully capable of running modern AAA games at 60fps+ with ease. The Z2 Extreme APU is based on strix point and features a 12 core 24 thread CPU that combines 8 performance Zen 5 cores with 4 efficient performance Zen 5c cores. It also features Radeon 880m GPU that based on RDNA 3.5 and features 16 compute units clocked at 2.9Ghz.

So let's break this down,
the Xbox Series S APU features an 8 core 16 thread Zen 2 CPU clocked at 3.5Ghz
If features an RDNA 2 GPU with 20 compute units clocked at 1.55Ghz

Of the Xbox handheld were using the Z2 Extreme it would rival the Series S.
The APU features a 12 core 24 thread Zen 5/Zen 5c CPU combined with an RDNA 3.5 GPU with 16 compute units clocked at 2.9Ghz. this chipset has a TDP of 28 watts HOWEVER it's believed most of the time it'll be ran at 15watts-25watts.

I believe an upcoming Xbox handheld gaming console will be able to outperform the Xbox Series S. I believe the handheld will feature a 1080p display with a minimum of 120Hz refresh rate. That combined with upcoming APUs that can easily outperform the Series S I believe we'll get an Xbox handheld capable of running entire Xbox libraries which will be such a badass feature!
Long Live Xbox, happy gaming ✌️

@Master_Cthulhu70 I think most people are saying Xbox as a console brand is dying because they are just sending all their games to other platforms (including Nintendo Switch 2) and it’s exclusives that contribute to console sales. It’s the reason Nintendo is never sending their games to other platforms.