Xbox Might Be Looking Into A Handheld Console As PlayStation Rumours Circulate

Would love this for Xbox! I absolutely loved the Vita when it first came out, that is until Sony slowly abandoned it, leaving plenty of bugs and issues as time went on.

I'm hopeful for a xbox portable but part of me doubts this will happen unless it's third party hardware.

Seems to me like a more viable option would be Windows competitor to SteamOS and hardware certification program for Game Pass. They practically already did the endorsement/certification for Rog Ally, why not make it a thing (MS is not looking into producing hardware as a primary driver anyway).

I'm interested in. I would definitely buy a portable xbox console (if it is not a mere streaming device, I can use my iPad for that).

Let's hope!

EDIT: the real questions is: will it come with a regular Windows OS (like other products in the market) or will it be powered by the custom Xbox OS?

Seems kinda pointless when you have devices like the ROG Ally that already act as a handheld xbox and offer far more flexibility at the same time.

I don't know how reliable the source is, but Microsoft should make a handheld console/PC just like Steam and Asus, for native and streaming gaming. It's a no-brainer. They already have the OS and Game Pass PC. There is a market for them, even more with Game Pass and being able to connect to the TV.

I mean Playstation and Xbox should both be doing this after the success of the Switch and to a lesser extent the Steamdeck.

It just needs to be native and not cloud. And not cost £699.99.

@Luca91 If it's windows I'm out. But if it's the same or similar OS as xbox, I'm in. Also, it has to play all (or at least most) of existing xbox games. Basically, if the series S can handle it, this new handheld should be able to as well.

@Sakai Yeah, I’ve been really impressed with PC Game Pass on the Ally. Great piece of kit.

@Banjo- technically they don't have the OS, as Windows has proven to be challenging when it comes to slimming down and optimizing. But if anybody could have resources and know-how to pull it off, it would be MS.

@NotoriousWhiz @Luca91 Since Xbox runs Windows, it would be awesome if the handheld would be able to run Xbox games and PC games. Windows profile and Xbox profile.

I’d buy a dedicated game pass handheld day 1.

I don't think Xbox or Sony was interested in anything handheld... then suddenly Valve and Asus proved you can have power and affordability at the same time and shocker-- gamers loved it.

Now I wouldn't be surprised if they're literally trying to beat each other to the shelves.

Honestly, Microsoft's infrastructure is already primed for it. They just need the device. Sony might already have the device, but they're integration is behind.

Not opposed, more competition in that market is good and I'd rather a handheld ran on Windows than Linux right now. I respect Linux and what it's trying to do but too many times I've tried to get a game running for my steam deck, it working, only for it to break a few days later. It's frustrating and annoying.

If it's just gonna be usable for Xbox games and only Xbox games though? Gotta admit that'd be kinda lame. Though ironically the two games I'd want to play on it are both technically xbox games lmao. World of Warcraft and the PC server for Elder Scrolls Online.

@Banjo- For me the big thing is simplicity. I don't want to have to search the web for drivers, don't want to attach a keyboard or mouse, or toggle launch options to get a game to run. From a user perspective, I should be able to find the game and launch it without worrying about anything else. If it can do all that and still support PC games, then that's fine, but that seems like a high bar. I'm perfectly fine with Xbox only.

With them doing the compact mode on the Xbox app pc side of things recently i could see it happening, hopefully it's not a streaming device though because I would buy one.

Even if it is in development, it doesn't mean it will reach the market. Their research group is always working on prototypes and projects that rarely make it all the way. There was surely a time when xbox vr was being worked on.

The big question is what price point would it be? I doubt it will be on par spec wise with the $600+ devices like Ally and Steam deck.

If it does make it to market, i hope it has windows and native access to digital xbox purchases not on gamepass. I love my ROG Ally and steam deck. If xbox were to combine the windows capabilities with access to my digital xbox library it would be a worthy purchase for me. Otherwise I will probably stick with the steam/gamepass machines that will likely be more powerful and offer all the same games.

I honestly think that they should just work with third parties to ensure you can have gamepass and play Xbox games you already own digitally natively on their devices. Hardware is expensive and always a risk, just make sure your software works great on what's out there and you are good to go.

I think they would be much better off partnering up with another hardware manaufacturer and offering a stripped down gaming windows OS with their own E shop.
Everyone agrees they are moving away from hardware, so stepping into a market with so many existing proven products would seem like a silly move to me. The above approach seems to fit in better with their longer term goals.
Still, anything can happen.

Ideally, a handheld Xbox would have Series S performance so the base level is the same and it doesn't have a separate library or rely on streaming.

I don't see the point of them releasing a windows device in an increasingly crowed "Handheld PC" market, their USP has to be their existing ecosystem.

I'm a tech b****. I would buy an Xbox handheld and a Playstation handheld. Probably wouldn't even use them. Lol.

Im sketchy on both being real but i feel like anytime something positive on PS is announced or rumored, an unvetted report comes up on xbox is like, yeah they are doing it too

Oh fantastic, not happy with getting smashed by Sony in the home market, Microsoft would like to try and take on Nintendo in the Handheld market? That would be a bloodbath that I wouldn’t like to see. I think the rumours of Sony and Microsoft greenlighting handhelds are simply that, just rumours. Out of the 2, I would say that Sony has more of a chance at releasing something, but Microsoft would be better placed to just release 1st party games on rival formats, it’s safer and as it has shown with releasing games on Nintendo Switch in the past, it works very well for Microsoft. Ori and Cuphead were 2 games that I probably played more because it was available on a handheld format. Given the mobile gaming devision that Microsoft are also working on, they have a market that dwarfs all else waiting for them, mobile phones.

The way to do it is the way the Switch does it.
Also then you are not stretching you all ready takes ages to get a game developers messing around with yet another device.

No thanks I stick to my switch and switch 2 or whatever its going to be called? I have no interest in a portable xbox or a portal playstation I'll stick to my xbox series s and ps5

@Bionic-Spencer it's all money money how much money do these companies seem to think people have ?

@Luca91 This is what they need. They started it back in the day but they should really develop a mobile friendly version of windows that works great on these handheld devices, even if they don't make their own hardware.

@Romans12 Lol. Your comment made me smile as thats exactly how it is for me, I'd buy it regardless If it plays a game, I'm on it!

@OldGamer999
I disagree. Having your main console handheld is extremely limiting simply due to the lack of power you can draw. Thats why the switch is so technically backwards and why the switch 2 cannot be more powerful than a PS4 - portable power is a huge limitation.
I want consoles that push the tech boundaries and they will never do that if they have to be portable - thats simple facts.
Right now, Steam deck is about as good as it gets.

A portable Xbox running my console game collection natively? Count me in.

@NotoriousWhiz If I had to choose one profile yes, I would choose an Xbox profile, like a handheld Series S that still can connect to the TV. That would make it much more interesting and versatile than Series S, that is popular already.

@Titntin
You have very good point, I as usual got on my high horse about game development, which going back to the PS4 and Xbox one days seemed to be a lot quicker and productive and less patches.

Perhaps less power would mean more games
Look what Nintendo pushed out on the switch last year, was a very good 2023.

@OldGamer999 We are all different of course, but Ive never had so many games to play and I've been adult since games started.
Lack of games is not a problem most players are concerned about 😁
Indeed, my series X hasnt been switched on since last October when my GP expired. This is simply as I prefer to play 3rd party titles elsewhere and Ive a huge backlog! Once Ive cleared out them, I'll resub and check its still working. Im not gonna miss out on avowed or indie, but they are some time away yet and theres a lot more to play elsewhere.

I still dont think a handheld is the correct choice for MS or PS for future consoles. Nintendo built their fan base partially on portable functionality which is why they need to stay in that niche, but it will be a big limitation for switch 2. Wont stop me getting one of course!

They must be, by now the numbers are in they have a real chance to push the tech do well and drive some good pr hype for the company i wish them the best i will buy one.

Even though there's a multitude of substitutes at the moment, I'd be much more inclined to buy a first party Xbox "switch-like" device with docking capability over just another regular console. Very interesting rumor indeed.

I'd buy it as long as it's not stream-only. I'd like to be able to download my games. Even better if the machine took the same memory cards as the series console. Especially because Microsoft makes good machines in general. They'd over design the thing lol. OLED screens and haptic feedback, 4k 120 lol

Pointless just team up with Logitech switch or steam

@Titntin
Switch 2 will be preordered the second they let me.
I’m sure we will get a new Mario 3d world big AAA on release and maybe Metriod 4.

Well, considering "some" devs and gamers consider the series S holding games back what would you think this will do to the devs? Another SKU to develop for? Will they make handheld specific games? Is is cloud only? If its a hybrid console i cant see it being their only console as the performance would not increase from current gen and we see that the specs on the xbox/ps are more than what the Nintendo devices can handle. I just think the market will get saturated and the Rog Ally/Steam Deck and Switch would be enough.

@Banjo- Well technically this is possible. Xbox OS is technically based on Windows and features a customized/optimized version of DirectX. On top of that there is a virtualization layer (based on HyperV). So it could run both OS if MS wants to. Even if there would be some low level details, these can be emulated somehow.
And don't forget that MS have all the specs and source codes, they can create a custom kernel specifically for that hardware while maintaining the compatibility with the current software.

I don't want to go into too much detail, but it is definitely possibile to create such console

@Luca91 You know more about it than me and you explain very well. I hope that they make it 🤞. People would love their handheld Xbox and, as you said, Microsoft being the creator of Windows and the hardware, no additional drivers and downloads would be required, so it should be as easy to use as an Xbox. I have a Surface Laptop and I haven't had to worry about any drivers or anything.

I'd love a native Xbox portable, but the devil is in the details. Devs would need to be assured they don't have to produce yet another version of every game to work with the portable. I honestly think this is one of many reasons why Sony abandoned its original portable.

And I worry based on the mostly failed Surface, how well MS would succeed producing it internally. They basically tried to make the Surface a portable PC vs a tablet. It ended up being prohibitively expensive for many and has floundered in the market. I fear the new MS portable would end up the same way.

Sadly, I think streaming is the only successful option for the immediate future. They need to bring more portability to GP.

They could work with devs and Sony to set minimum portable hardware standards, but that is even more unlikely.

My phone + razor kishi + series s = 4k home console + 1080p portable console. I am set. Thank you xbox.

@Moby I don't know where did you get that from, but Surface devices are successful commercially. Microsoft make new models each year and most of them win all the hardware awards along with the top-tier Apple devices. You need to pre-order some models because they sell out quickly. Of course, the best-selling brands are those that are cheaper, but no one would consider Apple a failure just because Asus or Xiaomi sell more units. Microsoft and Apple target a different market with more expensive, better hardware.

@Banjo- I like the Surface, but MS has roughly 4% of the tablet market. I wouldn't call that a success. In shareholders meetings, they've admitted to "scaling back" on Surface production to "meet" demand.

Im not kicking MS, but they've always done software better than hardware. And their hardware seems focused on back end more than everyday consumers. As they push to make GP available everywhere, streaming definitely seems to be their long term focus. Adding a large dedicated hardware division to manage a portable in house doesn't seem logical.

But...it's all conjecture at this point. 👍😉

@CharlieChooChoo I never had a portable (console-type) until Steam Deck and I have to admit, it is pretty cool. There is a utility that it provides. I can freely admit that I am an engineer and into gadgetry. This is not something I use everyday, but something that changes how I play.

No please no..
These two Giants should stay in the console business.
Let others run that competition.

@Sakai That depends on the OS. Windows on RoG Ally can't compare to a tailored portable OS like on Steam Deck. An Xbox portable could run a stripped-down version of Windows, or Xbox OS, or both. The Xbox and Xbox Game Pass libraries are different than their PC counterparts.

@Titntin
I totally get what you are saying.
Hopefully also PS5 Pro will give us a bit more power.
When I watch say Avatar on top PC it’s so much clearer in motion when moving the camera round and seems to have more depth and visual effects compared to current consoles.
But we also have to remember developers need to stretch the power of the console, which I guess will take even more time development wise.
And lately to me development seems to ages as it is, or I’m getting older and more impatient.

@Moby I understand. Maybe they made more tablets than they were able to sell. That market is full of companies, but making your own product even if it's not the best-selling one because you can't beat the Chinese doesn't mean that you should stop doing it. Apple can't beat them either.

Yes, Microsoft is mostly a software company but they get lots of hardware awards from independent websites. The Surface devices are great because of the built quality and because they also make the OS and you don't need to mess with configurations. For the record, I appreciate your comments 😊.

As someone who games exclusively on a Steam Deck I wouldn’t buy it. I trust Valve way more than I do MS when it comes to supporting hardware. Also, with Asus, Valve, Lenovo and MSI now joining the handheld business I don’t think this thing would sell enough. Ditto for a Vita 2.

@OldGamer999 More power the better mate. Yeah a 4k pc with all the bells and whistles can look better, but I have to say its not significant enough that I don't prefer playing on console. I use a decent 4090 pc, but only really play a game there if its 30 fps on console and I want the extra refresh. Ive been experimenting with streaming it to the telly via geforce and 4k 60fps is nice and steady. The extra input lag might be a turn off for the yougsters, but Im an old man and barely notice:)
Im always interested in new hardware though. If MS do make a new machine Id be all over it! Can't help myself 🤣

Handheld is heavensent imo. Do it Xbox!

@CharlieChooChoo Dipolar Computer is the only suitable technology for this

This is cool since green heart, Vert will finally have a CPU candidate and after ~16 games it's about time.

This same dude is also currently reporting that starfield and every other Xbox exclusive released recently are being released on ps5 in the near future. So I don’t believe a word he says.