Xbox handheld console could be revealed 'later this year', Microsoft teases
An Xbox handheld is coming, but will it arrive too late?
📆 Microsoft has said it’ll share more news on its Xbox handheld plans later this year
🤷♂️ Compared to SteamOS, Windows isn’t designed with handhelds in mind
🤔 We’ll have to wait and see if Microsoft releases hardware of its own, or if it just helps make current portable PCs more Xbox-like
💨 Microsoft may want to speed up its plans as Valve is bringing its interface to more handhelds
Microsoft continues to tease gamers about an Xbox handheld console and has now promised it will have a lot more to share later this year.
However, it may have to expedite its plans now that Valve is bringing its operating system, SteamOS, to more PC handhelds like the upcoming Lenovo Legion Go S.
Microsoft’s VP of next-generation hardware, Jason Ronald, shared new Xbox handheld news with The Verge, and explained that it wants to bring a console-like interface to handheld PCs that currently run Windows.
“We've been really innovating for a long time in the console space,” Ronald said during an interview this week at CES 2025, “And as we partner across the industry it's really about how do we bring those innovations that we've incubated and developed in the console space and bring them to PC and bring them to the handheld gaming space.”
Ultimately, Roland wants an Xbox handheld – or how Windows works on portable devices – to offer a simplified interface, similar to how Valve’s SteamOS effectively hides the fact it’s running on Linux unless users enter desktop mode.
“It's bringing the best of Xbox and Windows together, because we have spent the last 20 years building a world-class operating system, but it's really locked to the console,” Ronald said, discussing the Xbox console interface. “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.
“We're focused on really simplifying that and making it much more like a console experience. Our goal is to put the player and their library at the center of the experience and not all the [Windows] work that you have to do today.”
Ronald’s comments suggest Microsoft could focus on turning the current Windows handhelds, like the Asus ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go, into a portable Xbox, instead of releasing its own hardware. That remains to be seen, though, and Microsoft will know competition will be fierce if it enters the market.
The Nintendo Switch 2 release date is now expected for April, and there're rumors Sony is working on a PSP 2. Manufacturers like Asus, Lenovo and MSI are also continuing to release new iterations of its handhelds, and AMD just announced new Z2 chips that will help them deliver even more performance.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.