Microsofts Xbox Handheld Console Essentially Canceled Company to Work on Xbox Software Platform: Report

Xbox Handheld Dreams Dashed? Microsoft Reportedly Shelves Ambitious Project

While the ASUS ROG Ally X was being hyped as the comeback of handheld gaming systems, a bombshell set forth the report claiming Microsoft has birthed death on its own Xbox handheld console, once referred to as the alleged Switch killer.

Gone are the visions of Xbox toting it along for the ride. It looks instead as if Microsoft is making a movement. Keeping away from direct competition in the handheld field, it’s apparently doubling down on software. Now, the second strategy is to enable manufacturers to create thirdparty Xboxbranded handhelds, thereby building up a platform for a whole wave of thirdparty devices. Could this be the death knell of an era even before its birth, or the birth of something bolder and more cooperative in the realm of Xbox gaming?

Microsoft to Collaborate With Third-Party Handheld Makers

Handheld dreams of Microsoft seem to have flatlined. Sources whisper to The Verge about how the tech giant has “essentially cancelled” its plans for a dedicated Xbox handheld. Pocket-sized consoles are all but dead, with Microsoft instead doubling down on software to infuse an Xbox experience into devices like the Asus ROG Ally and its beefier brother, the ROG Ally X. Xbox gaming in the future will not be in Microsoft’s hands but rather on them.

According to Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft Gaming, in a recent interview he celebrates the collaboration between the two entities. “This is the tightest collaboration I’ve seen between the gaming organization and the Windows team in my three decades at the company,” he stated. It opened the floodgates to third-party manufacturers wanting to build handheld gaming PCs on Windows. Microsoft is signaling to the gaming community that still has hopes for on-the-go Windows experiences.

Gone are the days of clunky Windows interfaces on handhelds. And here comes the bombshell late this year from Asus: Windows-powered consoles with an Xbox feel. Without the desktop experience, these devices will premiere a UI built from the ground up for console use, allowing for quick launching of games and apps through a sleek user interface launcher. Basically, like SteamOS but with Windows horsepower under the hood. Handworthy Windows experience at last.

Microsoft’s handheld dreams might be on hold. Windows Central reported just weeks after rumors of an Xbox handheld started that development has been paused. Forget about console wars-it seems Microsoft is in a performance battle, laser-focused on supercharging Windows 11-for portable play. The goal? To make any handheld a gamer powerhouse and leave dedicated Xbox hardware in the back burner for now.

Microsoft is blurring the lines between console and PC gaming, marking every newer PC release as an Xbox PC title. Picture the Xbox PC app as a unified launcher, showing both Xbox PC games made for handhelds and your own Steam library. But don’t throw away your dedicated gaming rig just yet. Getting real Xbox emulation on these “Xbox PCs” apparently still takes some heavy lifting on Microsoft’s part.

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