During a CES 2025 roundtable with The Verge specifically titled “The Future of Gaming Handhelds”, Microsoft’s Jason Ronald shared some pivotal bits of information about their long rumored handheld.
The Xbox brand has primarily focused the majority of its efforts on at-home consoles, like the current Xbox Series X and S. Recently, Microsoft has shifted focus from their hardware to their cloud streaming initiatives and Game Pass altogether.
However, when asked about handhelds that the company could be making, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer quickly quipped that the company should “have a handheld too” when interviewed during an IGN Live back in June 2024.
Xbox Handheld On the Way?
At this year’s CES 2025 roundtable, Jason Ronald shared the company’s vision for their handheld if they were to produce one.
“I would say it’s bringing the best of Xbox and Windows together,” he shared. “What we’re doing is we’re really focused on how do we bring those experiences for both players and developers to the broader Windows ecosystem.”
This is an Xbox campaign
Microsoft’s “This is an Xbox” ad campaign is positioned to persuade customers into using the screens and tablet they already own as their own personal Xbox — pushing the brand past its hardware constraints. With the Xbox Cloud Gaming web app, gamers can stream hundreds of Xbox titles directly from their phones without needing to sync or connect a controller if they choose not to.
Similar to Sony and its Remote Play functionality found in the PS5 and PS4, Xbox offers a similar option for their games, also called Remote Play. It allows gamers to play any games they may have downloaded or inserted into their consoles at home from anywhere they can establish a decent network connection.
Microsoft’s History with Handhelds
In late 2022, Microsoft teamed up with Logitech to released the Logitech G Cloud, a relatively underpowered Android handheld that was created to target the game-streaming demograohic. Since the G Cloud also allowed for any Android-based emulators to be installed, it also became a fan-favorite for those who dabble in retro gaming and primarily play Xbox games either over the cloud or streaming from their home network.
However it now seems that Microsoft is willing to throw themselves directly into the mix by conceptualizing their idea of an official Microsoft-made Xbox handheld.
What to Expect and When
With Microsoft speaking more openly about their desires for a handheld, and giving small hints that one may exist, we could see some sort of official announcement from the company sooner rather than later.
Finding the sweet spot between what Windows offers gamers and what the Xbox platform has delivered seems to be a winning solution on paper, but until the idea is fleshed out and actualized, we can only dream. An Xbox handheld has been something people have been calling for since the early aughts when the Xbox brand was just getting on its feet, but now, it seems that the company may be inching closer and closer to releasing a full product.
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