Xbox's Phil Spencer Confirms Handheld Plans, But Don't Expect One Anytime Soon

It's OK. 2025 will be a good year for XBox. I hope they will sell more consoles next year and maybe an upgrade system comes. Let's see

But, But... PlayStation gamers keep saying Xbox is getting out of the gaming hardware business....lol

I've said a few times now that I suspect that the handheld will launch alongside the NeXtBoX in 2026, and will effectively take the place of the S...

@Nintendo4Sonic with them giving away games to ps dont expect it will be here in 5 years

Hopefully they don't go cloud based with this upcoming handheld device because with the amount of updates and promotions they have done over the past couple of years with cloud gaming I can imagine it has being put on the drawing board plenty of times first and foremost.

@themightyant I’d have to agree with that sentiment, but it does create a problem: A Switch 2 with nothing in the console space to directly compete against it (i.e. no Xbox handheld at/near launch) will clear the path to repeat domination out of the gate. Launching after the Switch 2 has had a whole year of a head start isn’t exactly doing them any favors.

@DarthCvrle66 if you didn't watch the big XBox stream a few months ago, there are games like Avowed, Gears of War E Day or Fable coming. And these are games not coming to PS.

@Nintendo4Sonic i watch everything and for now but if they start with halo gears and so on its gone

@DarthCvrle66 and I don't think that this will happen.
The problem will be Microsoft and the big studios they bought. So what they are doing right now with Call of Duty, Indiana Jones, Sea of Thieves... Will be tactical steps to earn more money.
They will know for themselves how important Gears and Halo are for Xbox.

@Nintendo4Sonic I think you need to keep up with the news:
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/11/xbox-boss-says-everything-is-on-the-table-when-it-comes-to-ps5-ports

It doesnt confirm anything except you cant say with any certainty that a title wont go to ps.
I primarily play on PlayStation, but I find that news a little depressing as I want to see Xbox being a strong platform, and I dont see that news helping..

@Titntin
Well there is the clarification I was asking for and moaning we had not been given.
Finally they have officially confirmed it.
That is all that I asked for and for any Xboxer.
At least we know where we stand now.

I guess I shall enjoy all the games on my PS5 Pro along with yourself.

@Balaam_ while I agree with you and the person you're responding to to a degree...I feel like the Xbox handheld would be more like a Steam Deck in that it's not really a "console," and thus not really compete directly with the Switch 2. But I can't see the future, so who knows.

I don’t care what Phil says anymore. He’s about as trustworthy as Peter Molyneux.

Anyone expecting 2025/26 for this is very optimistic.

If they are prototyping that means they haven't even settled on final specs for the thing, let alone form factor and that means none of the manufacturing is lined up either.

Unless the plan is to use existing chipsets this thing sounds like it is 3 years plus away to me and may just be another hand held PC the way Xbox is going.

@Titntin oh my god, I just saw it. 😳

I'm encouraged by their desire to innovate the xbox app for the Rog Ally. If they get to the point where you can purchase and play your digital games on any device, it will be huge for them. I am hoping that their future hardware is open like ROG Ally and Steam deck.

@Major_Player It’s not PlayStation gamers that say that, it’s Phil Spencer himself.
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2024/11/xbox-boss-says-everything-is-on-the-table-when-it-comes-to-ps5-ports

@IOI: I don't see Phil Spencer saying Xbox is getting out of the gaming hardware business.

You must have confused yourself with a made up PlayStation article.

@gollumb82 lol! I liked Peter. When he said he was buying the team a drink he meant it!
But I know what you mean of course... 😊

Here was me thinking we would be getting one next year ..(and I would have got one) kinda demoralising

@Major_Player Him saying there’s no redline for Xbox games on PlayStation is him admitting every game will eventually be ported, which we’ve all discussed will lead to the platform being more and more irrelevant to the point it doesn’t make sense to have dedicated customer-focused hardware anymore.

This is the strategy Microsoft has stated time and time again this year, only now he finally was clear that EVERYTHING is on the table to port to PS5, which also makes crystal clear the inevitable doom for Xbox, there’s nothing made up about it, just facts stated by Microsoft themselves.

@Titntin
I mean, I liked the early Molyneux 🙂 the original Syndicate is one of my all time favourite games. Too bad he ended up the way he did.

Phil waiting on Switch 2 to drop.

Nobody is buying Xbox's. Why would anyone buy a Xbox handheld?

@dreadful If it's a PC, like the ROG Ally or Steam Deck. It's the only pivot they can make now with their hardware (should they even continue making hardware), home console or handheld. Putting their games on Playstation has annihilated any chance of them making another "xbox ecosystem only" piece of hardware.

And before someone replies that of course they're making more hardware, they SAID they are making more hardware! The most powerful ever, and a handheld too! 1) it's not completely up to them, and even if it was, 2) plans change there quickly - where's the Keystone they said they were making? Right, cancelled.
They said they bought Bethesda to put quality exclusives on Xbox, too. Even the best case scenario, they make these devices, all of this is transitional to a hardware-less future they clearly want. They're trying to bridge the gap and keep as many existing customers as they can, which given the last public game pass numbers, are bleeding out rapidly.

Ugh, see this is the problem Microsoft always has in hardware. They have great ideas, they actually build some great products. Their problem is they're either so far ahead of the curve there's no market yet for the product they're making and it fails, or they're so behind the curve, they take years to do anything and by the time they deliver their well designed product, the market already came and went and attached elsewhere and they look like an also-ran.

The handheld was a great plan. It was a next step for Xbox hardware, it was a competitive differentiator. Now they're going to stall it for years and wait for a new Switch, wait for maybe a PS handheld, or just wait for more and more iterations of PC handhelds to flood the market before them and make theirs irrelevant, and meanwhile let their own hardware ecosystem stagnate more.

I had high hopes for their console plans with the handheld as a sort of reboot, but....now....meah....glad I bought my Legion. I'm sure I'll have upgraded again by the time MS gets theirs out at least once, wasn't worth the wait.

@Titntin But when Peter would say he's buying a drink I'm sure he described a golden nectar of the gods with a taste where you can taste each and every bee that ever pollinated the source harvest in a self refilling mug via an overhead delivery system, but when you got there, it was just Miller's from a normal tap.

@NEStalgia lol.
He'd just put a credit card behind the bar while the team attempted to drink it dry. He had pretty much shuffled off once EA bought Bullfrog, so I didnt see much of him as I came in for Dungeon Keeper 2, but he genuinely had his heart in the right place back then..

Welp, it's easy to see by the comments that Phil has finally ran out his popularity.

@EdgarTheBug “Hopefully they don’t go cloud based”

I’m with u on this one but I’m not getting my hopes up…let’s not forget Satya “Cloud Lover” Nadella is still at the reigns of Microsoft lol

Just like everything else he spouts it will probably never arrive.

@DarthCvrle66 console xbox market share can shrink but it still enough to keep going. MS wont abandon 50-60M active console users market. Thats just nonsense.
If you are implying that all current xbox players will switch over - think again. Exclusives is not the only factor and many players will be with xbox regardless if they are already team green. Also handheld could potentially grow this share as well.

@IOI why would the hardware business die out if 30 million game pass subscribers are on console

@Millionski a lot of people don’t understand this

@OldGamer999 great. We finally all can relax and all the whining can stop, right? I kinda thought all people who are “heartbroken” or “betrayed” by MS already destroyed their xboxes and bought the PS already. I dont think it solves the problem tho as now they have to wait for xbox games instead of playing them day 1 with GP but anyways let them enjoy I guess.

@IOI “inevitable doom” lol. Can I still turn on my xbox or is it dead already? Console share will shrink regardless as PC market grows and in 2-3 gens we can all be cloud. I should be depressed because trillion dollar company will potentially sell less plastic boxes?
As long as they keep making xboxes and they have 3rd party support we are all good. I never noticed a difference between playing on a 30M series s/x sold or 60M ps5 sold as a gamer (i own all consoles).
Moreover we see Kodjma and Square enix releasing on xbox.
People who like xbox ecosystem and GP will stay with it. Sure it might be less people but its still dozens of millions.

I feel like people in the comment section should touch the grass from time to time.

@Millionski @Millionski yes but some will and it will drop to half of that plus 3rd party dev will skip it cuz of small player base

@DarthCvrle66 how did you calculate drop in half? Why Square enix started releasing games on an “unpopular” platform xbox? Why Kojima just released death stranding on xbox with 50% discount? Seems like 30M is already enough to justify xbox port. And they count console player base now that also includes xbox one so we are talking 50-60M xbox consile active base. Yes its way lower than PS and switch but people think its low by itself which is not true.

@Titntin That's an awesome story!

He really had a lot of great ideas and intentions, just without thinking through how to actually do them or if it was even possible, haha. Nobody didn't like all the things he dreamed up, it's just that nobody, especially him, ever figured out how to actually make them 😂

I may be wrong, but kinda get the feeling next Xbox console will be very much as the Switch business model.

Basically Xbox already have a low end, low powered, console now called Series S.

My thinking is have the next Xbox Switch like console be yet another low powered console. That keeps it a step behind much like Series S is today will allow it to play Series X games with ease next gen.

I do not like it. But for place Xbox is now. It's smart business decision.

@Millionski Weird thing, I have noticed the difference when I want to play FFXVI, The Last of Us, FFVII Rebirth, Stellar Blade, Spider-Man 2, Black Myth Wukong or other dozens of games on Xbox and I can’t, had to get them on my PS5.

A couple of games released on Xbox after half a decade doesn’t mean a big turnaround is happening and the platform is gaining relevance, I don’t see it, of the 30M current users they have they’ll keep losing them with their baffling decisions and terrible communication, and not because of ‘bitter fanboys’, why would any casual gamer (the ones that make up the most of console sales) get the one platform with less games available and no exclusives? Game Pass isn’t a system seller as this generation has proven. This will only result in less users, less sales, less relevance for the platform, less games available for it and so on, until it stops making financial sense for MS to sell a plastic box and our digital libraries just get stuck on a dead platform.

No one is saying this will happen tomorrow, next year or even next generation but we have several precedents with Microsoft, the one that’s looking very similar is Windows Phone that collapsed after investing billions on Nokia and MS mismanaged them to oblivion, now look all that’s happening with Xbox after the Activision buyout, terrifyingly similar.

@IOI yeah some games were cool, i dont know about dozens. My ps5 is collecting dust until wolverine comes out. I returned to xbox as main platform for many reasons, GP is one of them.

Well clearly neither casuals nor MS themselves worry about console sales - only the “ bitter fanboys” as you said which i find ironic.

If issue wont happen until at least generation after next xbox (meaning 10+ years) I dont see any point losing my sh*t right now. You dont know what would happens to sony too. We all went from “only on playstation” to pretty much all games coming to PC in less than 5 years.

Then clearly even 30M active users is enough (and we have more on xbox consoles because we have to include xone, i remember 50-60M number thrown online) because Square Enix and Kodjima release their games on “unpopular losing” platform for some reason. Where is the lack of 3rd party support then?

And if MS “betrays” all of us and pulls the plug you still have your xbox with all your digital games playable, you can continue playing and just switch to PS or PC whenever you want.

I understand the frustration, we all want the 360 days back but lets accept the reality and enjoy cool things like GP or features like quick resume, and we have plenty of games coming soon. If my PS bros can play them too in a year for $70 I dont see a problem anymore. If xbox sells 40M vs 50 as x one I dont care either

@Millionski It’s not about console sales per se, but which games are available where, that’s what people care about and what compels both casuals and hardcore gamers into buying one platform or the other, Xbox already is the least important platform to develop for, some devs don’t even care to do a port, Sony can put their games on PC but their console still gets games from pretty much everyone including Microsoft, with that situation in mind why would anyone choose the Xbox over a PlayStation or PC?

If you want to continue to ignore the dwindling relevance of the platform and still invest on it it’s fine, Microsoft will happily take your money, I will not get rid of my Xbox but I’m not buying one single game on it ever again, will take advantage of the years of Game Pass I paid in advance and use my PS5 for most third-parties while I decide what to do next generation, but all roads lead to PC.

@IOI some devs dont release on PS either. Vampire survivors was unavailable for a big while on PS. Its some extreme or small cases in the end of the day but you are trying to push the narrative of xbox lacking 3rd party support which is untrue. My argument is if 3rd party support is dropping why Square Enix and Kodjima release their games on xbox now? Seems like 30M is aleeady enough to cover the costs of porting and earn profits. As I said before xbox is still millions of people, yes less than PS or switch but its a big audience. Until rockstar/EA/Ubisoft/CD project announce that they wont support xbox, its all speculations.

If you like to continue investing into the platform that is abusing its market position by doing paid upgrades and remakes, selling disk drives and stands and releasing overpriced PRO console because the know fanboys will buy it - be my guest. There were one of the first to push for $70 price tag. If you want to believe sony is good guys here, well i cant change your mind.

Its funny that you see buying access to digital games as investing but in the end of the day you dont own them.
Also if you “invest” into xbox platform, your games are also available on PC and cloud. And if they quit hardware, all your games will be accessible on the xbox that you own today anyways. So I never understand why is it a “risk”? You can switch at any moment. I have bought piles of games on steam but I sold my PC back in a day, so I dont have access currently but somehow I never struggled with it and just played other games on xbox/ps or bought those older games again on sale

@Millionski
It’s a lot deeper with us that have been with Xbox since day one with the original Xbox and every Xbox since.
If you were there, you would understand.

@Millionski
The sooner you wake up and realise.
Microsoft are going through the motions but are not really there with Xbox.
The sooner you will realise they have taken the heart and soul of Xbox and shredded it and destroyed it.

Don’t get me wrong the new Microsoft Games Studios will be alive and kicking publishing games but Xbox is almost now and will be no more.

@OldGamer999 i owned all xbox and ps consoles since ps1 and except OG xbox. And mostly preferred the playstation and fully switched to xbox during one X era. Its very weird to see everyone punching xbox (and I agree with some takes), but ignore whats been happening to sony. Imo both companies lost the console touch and it feels like watered down PC now. The only real console is switch.

@OldGamer999 yeah. Same with sony. Why should I be depressed about it? Thanks for childhood to both tho. If there would be powerfull nintendo docked console with all multiplat and all their exclusives I would trade both xbox/ps5 for that. I would miss GP tho for the value.
Sony for me ended during ps3 era. That was real sony soul and them trying to win customers vs just parasitizing on a almost monopolized market.

@Millionski
It has nothing to do with Sony or Nintendo.
It’s the way Microsoft are slowing pushing the Xbox out the door and keep producing just above average games at best.

I want Xbox to have just as many series x consoles sold as the Switch. I want Xbox to be releasing amazing big AAA exclusive games on Xbox consoles with massive critically acclaimed reviews and scores. They have released at best apart from FH5 just above average games as game pass fodder.

It’s not just the low console sales, the stagnant game pass subs.

The worse thing is they can’t seem to be able to produce amazing AAA games anymore.
Where’s my top end Halo game with amazing graphics and campaign, the same with gears of war, the same with Fable the same with perfect dark.
They just talk and chat and produce average ish games when they finally release.
That’s the real pain in the heart.

@Millionski
And how much to you wanna bet just like the a bit average game called Starfield that Indy will be jsut the same, you can tell by the gameplay and the looks and animation. It’s doing nothing special it will and 80ish score game.

Why can’t Xbox studios produce top quality AAA like TOTK and GOWR and even FH5.

I will tell you why. Because there poor studios have to focus on many many devices for day one release. Series x and series s, pc and cloud gaming and now maybe even PS5 and Switch 2.

I used to so look forward to the next Xbox studio blockbuster release day one for the Xbox360 only, knowing it will be up there with the best games ever made.
THATS the Xbox heart and soul that is no longer.

@Millionski No one said anything about Sony, I certainly have never said Sony is the "good guy", remove the tinfoil fanboy hat for a second and realize this has nothing to do with console wars, that's why it's so frustrating for me, with Xbox dropping the towel Sony has become more and more abusive but they still outsell Xbox by an ever growing margin, not because they're great, it's been the worst PS generation by far and yet people choose it because of MS´ incompetence to even name and market their own platforms, now they're giving up long term platform growth over a quick buck doing some ports, great for the gamers on the other consoles and for their financials, dreadful tho for the ones that have stuck with Xbox.

Typical Xbox fashion talking about ***** that’s not even ready in another 5 years

@NEStalgia Rog Ally X 3, Steam Deck 3 and Legion Go 3 will all be out by the time Xbox handheld 1 is released. Too little far too late from
Them. No point releasing next year with Switch 2 either.

Hardware wise, if done correctly, this might be the best path forward for Xbox.

@OldGamer999 I am on a same boat with you with games. 2022-2023 were bad years. I actually enjoyed the Halo infinite Multiplayer. I know it dropped support after but at that time it was top shooter.
Fable coming 2025, gears prob 2026, perfect dark not sure. Big games take 5-7 years to develop, again its in industry problem.
I agree that if they all suck then its concerning but its too early to judge.
and if you are not happy with things right now and dont have faith for future, then why be with xbox. I would ve biten the bullet already and switched to another platform.

about the console sales....well YOU want them to sell that much, its your expectations man. Thats never happening. I am even concerned 360 was just an exception. xbox was always too small to MS. I would personally be happy if MS just sold the whole Xbox business to a smaller player who will focus on console only.

@S1ayeR74 In theory they'd get the hardware right, and the price right so that it's still theoretically viable, but, yeah, I agree, it's a long enough wait that I think it will by then seem irrelevant in the market of existing handhelds. Unless Asus keeps driving prices up into LOLland so that they look uncompetitive. They already have an $800 handheld, if they stay there and Deck and XHeld are half the price, it will still be viable.

@Millionski
I’m not actually with Xbox now. I have a PS5 Pro for good or bad 🤣.
But Xbox had been in my blood since day one.
And you people on here are all great to chat to.
It’s hard to give up totally on a console love.

@OldGamer999 nice. I pre-ordered my PRO on first day driven by hype but the more comparison tests I looked on DF the more disappointed I was. Couple it with no new releases on PS coming any time soon, and the fact that xbox Game pass release schedule is stacked since sep this year till feb 25 at least - I cancelled my pre-order. Also the pricing in Canada is nuts - in Ontario after tax it costs $1100. With no visible improvement I actually felt scammed lol. And funnily we all complain for lack of games on xbox but since astrobot (GOTY material) my ps5 has been gathering dust and I have been playing all the time on xbox.
Will see how PRO works with newer games next year - maybe difference will be more noticeable. I dont plan to replay older ps5 games that looked great like ratchet so kinda pointless for now IMO

@Millionski
Yes I never really go back on old games on any system that is why the PlayStation has not had much use this year.
But Astro Bot was really good and I’m playing dragon age and really enjoying that.

Nintendo have been very very quiet for me this year not spent a single penny on my Switch this year.

Series x which I had until very recently was my third party games machine really as most of their exclusives have been nothing for me this year.
Now the big question is how will Stalker 2 and Indy do.
Xbox could make themselves the potential star of this year with those 2 games. But let’s calm down and see what they are like.

@Millionski
The Pro for me is more like a comfort blanket knowing I’m playing the best version of a game that can be on a console at 60fps.
Though it really shines with games like spider man 2 with all bells and whistles turned on and near 60fps if you have a full 4K, VRR 120hz TV.
That at the moment is where the Pro shines.

@OldGamer999 hm I saw spider 2 tests and mostly PRO removes the blur behind - i dont really care about such things. To spend 1k bucks on this sounds like a joke to me. Not even mentioning that I ve beat this game a year ago.

I am more interested to see the new games performance on PRO. Anyways, I made a decision to skip it regardless. Gonna wait for next gen xbox and ps6 and decide. By then i hope MS figures out their strategy/exclusivity/any changes to GP so I can make informed move.
Also PC is another option at all times but not feeling PC in the past years at all.

@NEStalgia Guess we will have to see, I think they are around 5 to 10 years too late with a handheld. And will it run games natively or just stream them? They could make just a Game Pass streaming device aka PS Portal and slash its price. Would seem odd though?

@S1ayeR74 They've all but confirmed it's a real handheld, not a streaming device, and have talked about it in context with Ally/Legion etc, so I think that's a firm bet there. They're not going for the Portal/phone/G-Cloud market on this one, they're going for the Ally market. Which is smart, and there's a market for it for sure (the PC portables are doing particularly well in Asia.)

But late to the party is the big problem. Steam Deck into Ally was really the big push into the new handheld world, and launching today would put Xbox in a competitive place still, but launching "in a few years" after all the above have had one or more refreshes plus Switch 2, just seems like such incredibly late timing. I bet it will be an excellent product that just struggles to make it into the the market because it's too late. A classic MS problem.

@DarthCvrle66 yea give me a pc with all the pros of a console and I will care about xbox games going to ps so much 🤣🤣🤣. Pc has no big exclusives and it was, it is and always will be the biggest platform.