Xbox Boss On Handheld Rumours: Hardware Team Considering Different 'Form Factors'

I will only buy an Xbox handheld that actually plays my Xbox games.

Not a "handheld PC", that are plenty of them already and I don't think putting an Xbox sticker on one is going to matter. Not a "cloud unit" I like the cloud but again I have devices that do that anyway.

It needs to be able to play my entire Xbox digital library, basically a series S as a handheld.

Since there are already handheld PCs out there, I don't think a handheld xbox will sell that well. I'd rather get handheld PC that can play both PC and xbox games.

I'd love a proper xbox hand held ala Switch. I'm confused though. Why are they looking into more hardware if they have problems with hardware sales?

@CutchuSlow I think it could sell if done well. Most handheld PC are vastly out of most people’s price range, and the Steam Deck can only be purchased through Steam… So that only accessible by PC gamers.

@abe_hikura yeah, same. With a clean ui, cold to the touch and access to gamepass and hopefully xcloud too.

@BIG3 because the form factor of the hardware could be one of the reasons that it’s not selling as well as it could.

They try to get more people into game pass. And for that you have to offer various ways of entry

@BIG3 they'll be looking to nab some Switch (who dont own a next gen system) owners, tap in to the "buzz" of handheld PCs to nab some others, and doubling Dipping from people who own a series X/S

Ofcause their hardware problems stem from software, namely not having enough compelling releases to drive sales. A frankly insane problem for a 30 studio company.

@CutchuSlow unless it can play it xbox console games. It's literally the only thing a Xbox handheld can bring to the table that's not just a handheld PC with a X sticker on.

If this thing can play my Xbox library - they could announce that not a SINGLE new game would come to Xbox ever again and I would still buy this thing day one. My Xbox library is huge - it would be worth it.

@abe_hikura yea I was so close to buying a ROG Ally but it needs native Xbox support. I’m really holding out for one.

Yes, this would definitely be a success: a native Xbox handheld PC, a handheld Xbox. There's nothing exactly like that in the market and it could also be a second unit for many Nintendo and Playstation players. I haven't bought a Steam Deck nor an Asus Rog Ally, but I would buy this.

I really do enjoy streaming my Xbox games through my Steam Deck through Greenlight. While it works fine, I do wish that an official app was available as well. Has anyone tried XBPlay? I wondered how it compares to Greenlight?

For a handheld Xbox to be successful it would need to offer something that nothing else does, or at least do what it does better than anything else on the market. The Switch is massively successful because it is the only place available to play the latest Nintendo games, however with an increasing number of handheld PC's on the market that are capable of playing the majority of Xbox games, either natively or via the cloud, then it would need to bring something extra to the table to stand out from the crowd. It's unlikely people are going to invest in a third handheld if they already have a Switch and handheld PC for portable gaming.

"What should we build that will attract new players...?"

Have you considered...games, Phil?

@armondo36 they have like 10 games coming this year 4 of them are hiters what do u want more?

@AverageGamer can get steam app on the phone too and buy from there or on their website. So not only accessible through a PC.

@abe_hikura A handheld Series S would be ideal in my opinion.

If they hope to make sales with a handheld it should have a price lower than steam deck. Otherwise why would anyone bother getting one and not a windows handheld or steam deck?

@DarkCvrle25 No company in the history of gaming has spent more time making promises than Microsoft. What they have earned is this: I'll believe that those games are coming this year and will be more than a 7/10 when it happens. Ten years of delays, cancelations and just ok final releases will do that to a person lol

@armondo36 that can be true but i have high hopes for this year and with Ps having no first party studio relase there is a strong chance that hellblade if it is good wins GOTY with indiana jones avowed right there with them

I'm kind of hoping it is a microsoft/windows branded pc with access to a xbox UI with digital xbox library access as well.

My Steam deck and Rog Ally are so versatile that I don't know that an xbox only device would be worth anything to me. It's so easy to use emulation on them, steam, GOG, Epic, gamepass, etc. They offer access to like 90% of all games ever made where as an xbox, ps, or nintendo only device gets you a very very small fraction of that.

@CutchuSlow I never said only accessible through a PC... Even downloading the app or buying it from their website still requires a Steam account. Even almost 3 years into the Steam Deck life, it is still very restricting on who and where people can purchase the steam deck. It not available in major store or retailer. Good luck buying one if you outside of Steam region of support. Australians still can't technically buy one without a bunch of hassle.

@AverageGamer oh ok. But no point getting a steam deck if you're not going to make an account, if you're in regions it sells it. Coz you would probably need an account to use it.

Xbox got the IP's start making this handheld and start porting those games. Make sure to include an offline mode.

@CutchuSlow There is still plenty of reasons to get a steam deck without needing a steam account. The Steam Deck make for a very good Linux machine, and you don't need a steam account for that. There also come issue of parents/grandparents trying to buy them for younger folks.

I mean they could but like Pocket PCs, PSP/DS, to now yes many PC handhelds, emulation handhelds and more is there a point.

Windows wins by Windows alone on these PC handhelds as they did Pocket PCs besides Windows phone direction and well it dying off sadly I liked Windows phone.

An Xbox or Windows handheld sure I guess but I just don't see it. If like Kinect or SmartGlass beside remote play (later on Xbox) or Wii U, and competition with Switch besides Portal or the Samsung TV app deal.

I mean Steam Deck has the ability for Linux, Steam Big Picture and other OSs the same way the other PC handhelds offer Windows at the forefront and Windows 10/11 are big OSs than Linux being tiny in comparison of space on the drives.

They could have a go at a handheld by all means. But the thing is I don't do digital on Xbox..... So for me it's useless for others sure I'd be nice to finally see an Xbox handheld happen.

It was just PC handhelds of the 2000s with Pocket PCs or nowadays happen besides well Laptops/2 in 1s, Windows ARM I guess or whatever of Surface Duo of Microsoft Android flavour or so and Windows Tablets of old like Pen Computing 3.1, XP Tablet Edition, Surface and more.

To me I care more for Xbox controllers to have gyro like the future design docs, as I enjoyed Impulse Triggers in the few games that used it 2013+.

But a handheld sure I guess if it's worth it. Then a G Cloud without the Tencent parts, some other quirks or other Android/Windows devices and an Xbox focused then Xbox/Windows combo I guess as they want it likely closed down more like Switch is.

You'd want to hope it isn't like SmartGlass but improved or Remote Play and like Portal. Eh if it is pass.

Give it dual screen or split screen nah that won;'t happen either. Or Android.

Or Gamepass games only either hmm. Nah too many factors of hardware and just not packing it into a handheld it will be cloud or remote play wireless. I don't see it being exciting locally.

Do they really need more hardware right now, when still so many games need releasing?

Looking forward to a clunky handheld with a 2 hour battery life 😂😂😂 Nintendo Switch 2 will absolutely bury this system lol

@GrandValkyrie Can't see why not, Sony are releasing No First Party AAA exclusives for over 2 years (Last one was Spiderman 2 2023 next one after April 2025) but it isn't stopping them releasing new hardware.

Handheld will not help the situation with the sales , MS already has handheld approximation which is gaming in cloud from your console over to the phone, if you do the numbers on the amount of people that use the feature already that's -minus on whoever will be buying that , other people already use switch/steamdeck , I SAY get a reimbursement program for replacement of XSX for XSX PRO with updated GPU and RAM at fraction of cost, show the community you care and are competitive, what can save XSX sales is better computing power relative to lackluster optimization of existing titles, so that RAY TRACING can be finally playable in 50-60FPS instead of being a gimmick from Mr Jacket, otherwise get steamrolled by Sony and their exclusives, as is going to be the case with poor leadership. KUDOS

For those with large physical media collections on Xbox , this is a no buy. considering across generations I have approximately 200 or more games physical . i wont be able to play any of those. unless they come up with some complicated authentication process.
sorry but I'm OUT.

I would be far, far happier if Microsoft were to just focus on software instead of taking on Nintendo in the Console Handheld market. That is a bloodbath waiting to happen with Switch 2 on the horizon!

Honestly I just don't get the appeal of a dedicated gaming device. Just optimize the gaming experience on my phone, I don't want to carry multiple hardware devices stuffed into my pockets. Let me carry one device that rules them all...

You already carry your phone that killed you needing to have many other devices... I'm old enough to have had:
-Gaming: GameBoy
-Personal Digital Assistant: PalmPilot, Windows CE PocketPC
-Music: Walkman, iPod
-GPS
-Digital Camera
-Calculator
-Flashlight
Not to mention it can do phone things like placing a call
I don't want to stuff my pockets when I'm on the go/"mobile".

Plus next gen Xbox, better be like my phone, one device to rule them all... With all that new supposed horsepower, it better do PC things & gaming things all in one box.

Switch, Portal, and Deck all say there's a big market for portable gaming devices. Realistically a bigger market than home power consoles connected to a big TV. Ideally you buy a game once and can do both. Which is the point. Home consoles stagnated, are vying for the same customers over and over, and most of them already picked Sontendo. Handhelds is still a growing area.

In MS's case, selling GP Subs is their core product for better or worse, and they have an issue that the only places they can sell that is PC and their limited console hardware sales compared to PS. How do you grow GP subs? Get different markets to be able to subscribe. Handheld consoles (including Deck) is the one place that GP is not (natively without sideloading), and that's a huge market, and one Nintendo is certainly not going to let them into in their market.

There's a lot of people, myself included that are 100% down for 1 digital library, GP aside, that plays on a powerful handheld and a powerful home console.

Cloud is ok, but it needs a lot of work before it can replace a handheld. For people that are actually very mobile with a handheld, data performance is spotty enough that it doesn't suit many such people. It doesn't have quick resume which is essential for pick up and play handheld use (lack of QR is the one reason even for GP Cloud titles I end up just downloading and streaming from a Series S instead of the cloud version. Wait times for cloud is the other issue. Cloud seemed like it was "almost ready" 3 years ago, but it hasn't actually made that final push I expected since then, and MS's own statements at the trials confirmed it's not really used much as-is so they probably slowed the very expensive development and roll out of it. The streaming device seems to have been shelved indefinitely, and I'm sure that's related to the slow uptake of cloud and a decision to slow down the scaling of the rollout of it. To sell the streaming stick means ramping up server capacity, and if they don't feel retention numbers are there in cloud to justify the datacenter spending, it's best not to try to push a boom of short-term cloud-only subs that vanish.

MS's problem is, in consoles, Sony and Nintendo crush them. In PC, Steam and EGS crush them. They don't really have a dominant position on any platform, so they need to spread their reach to be a player in all of them if they can't be the leader in any of them.

A mix of PC presence, a powerful console, and a handheld for the masses with one digital library/sub is realistically their only viable angle. And it's not a bad one. PS's portal is doing great, and it's just a remote play device. A real portable console that plays your digital library like a Deck would be even more popular.

Price remains the only question. Switch is $300. I bet Switch 2 is $400 at least. Deck is 400 but Deck OLED is 550. I don't think they could charge more for the handheld than the XSX at 500.

So he wants the same crap XBox dashboard full of advertisements on his PC... To be fair that'd be an improvement on the crap Xbox app they're currently peddling.

@abe_hikura I have doubts a xbox handheld would be able to play all of xbox library. If it's going to be cheap, under $400. It's going to have to sacrifice a lot of the quality for it to perform well. Handhelds aren't really powerful, and if it was powerful enough to play series xs games, then batteries may not last more than 20 minutes. Like when the rog ally came out, people complained about the battery.

@CutchuSlow Battery is really the big question mark. Ally, Legion, Deck can all play "basically anything" just fine, but battery is definitely the cost on that. And Surface isn't exactly a role model in battery life.

I don't know if anyone else has already commented about it but I found an article elsewhere about this where Phil says the handheld is for gen z because they are used to having everything on the go with their phone. Don't count on this being any good.

Honestly, the "everything on the go" comment has me worried. A solid portable would be great but I don't want a portable to try and replace my phone and I doubt "Gen Z" does either. That attitude is how we ended up with the Kinect forced down our throats.