For months, we've heard rumors about the potential release of an Xbox handheld. Various insiders suggested that there would be news about the new hardware during the Xbox Games Showcase 2024; however, nothing happened.
Following the presentation, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Gaming, surprisingly spoke about the reports and ignited the hype for an Xbox handheld. He is aware of the community's excitement for this possible project and left the door open for it to become a reality in the future.
Phil Spencer suggests Xbox is working on a handheld
During an interview with IGN, the executive was questioned about the recent rumors regarding an Xbox handheld and the direction the company will take in terms of hardware. To everyone's surprise, Spencer stated that they are exploring different ways of playing, which opens the door to a handheld.
He mentioned that the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 was focused on games with a few minor hardware announcements, such as the new all-digital Xbox Series X. He confirmed that in the future, they will discuss Xbox as a platform overall, which involves news about hardware.
What's most interesting is that Spencer likes the idea of having an Xbox handheld. He was asked about what type of device it would be, and he stated that they would likely focus on local and native gaming that doesn't rely on the cloud or a connection.
"The future for us in hardware is pretty awesome and the work that the team is doing around different form factors and different ways to play is something I'm incredibly excited about. Today was about the games. We showed a new all-digital Xbox Series X console. We will have a time to come out and talk more about the platform. But I think we should have a handheld, too. (...) I think being able to play games locally is really important," Spencer said.
While there's nothing concrete yet regarding an Xbox handheld, everything indicates that the company will venture into this market in the future. We'll have to wait to learn more about their plans.
Xbox Handheld pretty much confirmed as far as I’m concerned 👀 pic.twitter.com/AagO0Tivum
— Everborn (NYCC ’24 Booth 2039) Saga (@EverbornSaga) June 10, 2024
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