Is A New Xbox Handheld Coming?

Microsoft is in a weird place with its current console offerings, but it looks like the company is planning to take Xbox into a new market with an in-development handheld device… even if it isn’t close to coming out. 

Rumors about Microsoft working on a handheld Xbox variant that could utilize tools such as Xbox Cloud Gaming and Game Pass have been circulating for a while now, but there was never any official confirmation until now. In an interview with Bloomberg, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer noted that the company has been testing prototypes but the development process is more complicated than just making a device.

Xbox currently has no set plans or a timeline to launch a handheld console. According to Phil Spencer, prototypes and other plans are in the works for a handheld, but the company is still thinking about what it will do in that area. 

Spencer notes the “expectation is that we would do something” and that he has asked his teams to “look at the market and develop its vision based on what it learns.” With that approach, any Xbox handheld device is going to be “a few years out.”

“Longer term, I love us building devices,” Spencer said to Bloomberg. “And I think our team could do some real innovative work, but we want to be informed by learning and what’s happening now.”

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While a dedicated Xbox handheld is still a ways out, Microsoft is already working to provide a mobile experience through its Xbox app and a new mobile marketplace.

While talking about plans for the Xbox handheld, Spencer spent more time speaking about the future of Xbox exclusives like Halo, plans to stay in the market for acquisitions, and improving the Xbox app that is already available on mobile devices. 

According to Spencer, “making the Xbox app work better on existing portable devices and partnering with hardware makers to make sure their products sync with Xbox games and experiences” is the focus alongside the new online, mobile-centric storefront.

In May, months after a court ruling in favor of Epic Games regarding the Google Play Store being a monopoly, Microsoft announced its plans for a storefront that would allow for players to directly interact with Xbox games. That has since been delayed for a number of reasons, including Xbox doing more research into the mobile market and how to attract players to its new storefront, either on mobile of via the web.

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As of now, the Xbox app on both Apple and Google Play allows you to “game clips and screenshots, chat, get notifications, explore Game Pass, and more.” This includes using Remote Play with your console too. 

In the future, if app store regulations do lessen on Apple and Android, Xbox will likely offer its Xbox Cloud Gaming content in the mobile app too. That would allow you to play some games you own or titles on Game Pass without downloading them, which you can already do via supported browsers, the Xbox PC and TV app, on Xbox consoles, and select VR headsets.

“I think the ball is moving in the right direction,” Spencer said. “I think this idea of open platforms, where users have more choice, creators have more choice, you see the momentum, right?”

Whether it is through expanding and improving its existing mobile app or releasing a dedicated handheld, getting more players into the Xbox ecosystem is a win for Microsoft. 

For example, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is already hitting big user numbers after launch and a game with multiplayer will always be better with more players available to matchmake. The ability to add mobile users to that total for CoD, Halo, and other titles would be a boon for Xbox’s business and the games themselves, especially when competitive and esports elements are taken into account.