A new interview with Xbox head, Phil Spencer, has revealed that the long-rumored Xbox handheld is a very real possibility. However, there’s a catch, with the Microsoft gaming chief saying that the new Steam Deck competitor wouldn’t be with players for a few years yet.
Since the launch of the Steam Deck and Xbox’s partnership with the Logitech G Cloud, as well as Asus on the ROG Ally, the Microsoft entry into the handheld space has been a constant talking point. It’s clear there’s an idea in the works, but it looks like it’s going to take a while before it sees the light of day.
According to Spencer the Xbox team still has a ways to go before the team will even commit to the idea. In a Bloomberg interview, it appears that the Xbox hardware team is in the early stages of design. Spencer mentions that there is work on prototypes and “what it might do,” but he’s still asking the team to take stock of the landscape before going all in.
A large part of that process is ensuring the Xbox app works as intended. Among all the reviews of handhelds running Windows, there’s one common complaint: Windows. In its current state, the OS struggles to bring an easy experience when compared to Valve’s custom-built version of Linux, SteamOS.
Most manufacturers will ship handhelds with their own launcher, but these will simply just launch Steam, Epic, or the Xbox app. While the PC Xbox app itself has received a few updates in the last few months to improve stability and usability, it’s still best used with a mouse and keyboard. Not ideal for a handheld.
Despite this, handhelds outside Valve’s offering are more often than not opting to use Microsoft Windows 11 to give players the most access to games. Linux, and by extension, SteamOS, don’t have access to some multiplayer titles, or the the coveted Xbox app for Game Pass.
Inklings of Xbox pursuing a handheld future came about last year, weeks before the ROG Ally officially launched. In a company Hackathon, one engineer developed a custom user interface dubbed “Windows Handheld Mode.” This hasn’t seen an official release, but it was clearly inspired by some of the choices being made internally at the computing giant.
On the hardware side, Spencer does say that he loves “building devices.” This long-term goal looks like an idea that he wants to ensure the company is “informed” about, “by learning and what’s happening now.”
The new Xbox handheld might be years away, but the market is currently flooded with options. Most players agree that the best gaming handheld is still the Steam Deck. However, with Microsoft exploring the space, it could easily upend that situation once it’s ready to hit prime time.