Xbox Becoming A Steam Deck Competitor Makes Perfect Sense

I’m not sure Xbox is in a position right now where it can stop making hardware. For the vast majority of two console generations, it has been trailing behind PlayStation both in terms of sales numbers and exclusives worth playing on the platform. Whenever a major game hits store shelves and sales data is released, the split is always heavily in favour of Sony. That is simply the current state of things, and right now there is no way to reverse these fortunes.

The green giant has been trying, as evidenced by its increased focus on first-party bangers like Fable and The Outer Worlds 2, alongside a willingness to bring both those and existing titles to rival hardware. Next month will see Forza Horizon 5 come to PS5, while Pentinment, Hi-Fi Rush, and Grounded already call the rival console home. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is rumoured to arrive next month too, which is arguably the most successful Xbox exclusive in recent years.

Everything Is About To Change For Xbox

But the corporation isn’t in a position to leave the console business behind for good, at least not right away. It has stock to sell and games in development, not to mention that plans for a successor were likely in place years ago with the assumption that Game Pass growth and its large number of users would help drive profits. That hasn’t happened, hence its new strategy of cross-platform releases and willingness to no longer be precious with key properties.

I think we will see another Xbox console arrive in 2027 or so, but I also believe it will be the last as we transition into a future dictated by cloud streaming, digital ownership, and the likes of Halo, Forza, and Gears of War calling multiple places home instead of a single piece of hardware that for years has struggled to cement its place in the modern landscape. But it could also mean the rise of something else we’ve been waiting a long time for – a dedicated Xbox handheld.

Windows Central reported earlier this week that Xbox’s future hardware plans will begin with a dedicated handheld console launching as early as later this year, with a console coming in 2027. However, this report has since been refuted by sources at The Verge, so it’s difficult to tell exactly where the truth lies right now. Either way, whether it involves marketing that every single device in your house is somehow an Xbox or proceeding with its own brand of handheld console, the future is looking very interesting. Besides, why can’t it do both?

Xbox Is In Desperate Need Of Its Own Steam Deck

A handheld to call its own also makes sense, because for the past several years Microsoft has been trying desperately to get us to stream games on our phones, tablets, and similar devices, but I swear that the majority of people just don’t know or care.

Maybe there are simply too many hoops to jump through, or most consumers would rather something tangible to pour their time into instead of an app on their phones with inferior visuals and performance.

Xbox has an opportunity to change the conversation by transforming that lacklustre experience into a line of handheld machines that can both play games locally and stream them from the cloud. Valve did just that with the Steam Deck, and it’s become a global hit in recent years while spawning an entire industry of copycats.

There was a time when I would always take my Nintendo Switch on long trips, but now I tend to replace that with Valve’s handheld because it feels better, looks better, and plays a bigger variety of games I love. It took a bit of an effort on Valve’s part with the high-profile failure of Steam Machines years earlier, but it was worth the hardship.

You could argue that Xbox producing a transparent rival to the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck is lazy on the part of Microsoft, but so long as it’s designed effectively and is enjoyable to use, who cares? It can iterate, innovate, and perhaps this new form factor can encourage the creation of games other than unsustainable triple-A blockbusters.

For decades now, we have been stumbling upon mock-ups of a hypothetical Xbox handheld online, and finally it feels like we exist in a market where one is not only possible, but seems like the smartest course of action for a struggling games division.

Xbox finds itself in a position where it needs to redefine its very existence in order to stay relevant, and we are already seeing efforts made by porting games to rival hardware and promising consumers and press that nothing is off the table moving forward. That vision is ripe for a handheld of its own, so make it happen.

Xbox Series X

Brand

Microsoft

Operating System

Proprietary (Windows-based)

Storage

1TB WD SN530 NVMe SSD

VR Support

No