Xbox is working on its own gaming handheld

For months, there have been rumours claiming that Microsoft is working on an Xbox handheld to capitalise on the growing popularity of handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. Now, Phil Spencer has confirmed that an Xbox handheld is indeed in the works. 

Speaking with Bloomberg this week, Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, confirmed that the Xbox team is working on something for the handheld gaming market. However, despite rumours claiming that this handheld could be just around the corner, Spencer states that such a device is ‘years away'.

It is unclear what hardware an Xbox handheld would sport but given that AMD is already powering Xbox consoles, and many of the current PC gaming handhelds, we can expect Microsoft to partner with AMD again, using one of their powerful mobile APUs.

Microsoft has also been working on improving Windows specifically for gaming handhelds. However, Windows is still far from being a perfect option for a handheld device, something that would have to change for an official Xbox-branded handheld.

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KitGuru Says: At this point, I am quite happy with my Steam Deck, but an Xbox gaming handheld would certainly be interesting. If it runs a proper version of Windows, gamers will also be able to use it to play PlayStation games, like God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn and Spider-Man. 

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