Xbox gaming handheld is years away, Microsoft exec says

Microsoft gaming head Phil Spencer has made no secret of his interest in an Xbox handheld to compete with the best handheld gaming PCs, such as the Steam Deck OLED and Asus ROG Ally X. But in an interview with Bloomberg, Spencer made it clear that the device isn’t coming anytime soon.

In the interview, Spencer told the publication that the “expectation is that we would do something” but that the public shouldn’t expect to see it for a few years.

“Longer term, I love us building devices,” Spencer told Bloomberg. “And I think our team could do some real innovative work, but we want to be informed by learning and what’s happening now.”

But for now, it seems that the focus is on improving the experience of Microsoft’s Xbox app on the current slate of PC gaming handhelds and how Xbox features and games work on those devices. Recently, Microsoft announced a UI update to the Xbox app for Windows, called “compact mode” for mobile devices. Windows 11 has been widely cited by reviewers (myself included) as a weak point on handhelds like the ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.

The interview also revealed that Microsoft is still interested in making further acquisitions following its $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard in 2023. Microsoft is also working on mobile games stores, which have been delayed.

The Steam Deck, launched in early 2022, popularized the modern PC gaming handheld. While that saw an OLED update, it hasn’t seen a new chip with stronger gaming capabilities, and Valve has suggested it isn’t immediately releasing an update. Most popular Windows options use AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme, so the PC gaming handheld scene is still widely considered to be in its first generation.

In the meantime, Spencer told Bloomberg that the Xbox business is doing well despite its third-place status behind the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5: “The business is performing right now, and I think that means a more healthy future for hardware and the games we build.” That’s thanks to increased PC and cloud gaming on top of the existing console business.

If an Xbox handheld is to make a splash, it will have to differentiate itself greatly from the Steam Deck and Windows machines from Lenovo, MSI, and Asus. Those few years may be very exciting, so a late entry will have to do something truly exciting.