From announcements about new handhelds to a mockup of the unannounced Nintendo Switch 2, CES 2025 has been a roller coaster for handheld gamers, but the fun doesn’t stop there. Amidst all the excitement, Microsoft has shared its vision for the highly anticipated Xbox Handheld and its efforts to integrate the Xbox dashboard with Windows. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time hints of an Xbox handheld device have surfaced. Previously, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed that prototypes of a handheld device were in development, although their release is still a few years away.
While Microsoft hasn’t provided a definitive answer about its future in the gaming industry, Jason Ronald, Vice President of Xbox Gaming Devices and Ecosystem at Microsoft, has shed some light on the subject. Ronald, who played a key role in the development of the Xbox One X and Xbox Series S|X consoles, promised that the Xbox Handheld would “combine the best of console and PC gaming”.
Speaking at an AMD and Lenovo event during CES titled The Future of Gaming Handhelds, Ronald stated, “We’ve been really innovating for a long time in the console space, 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.”
Microsoft VP shares the company’s handheld plans in a new interview
Ronald also shared additional details about Microsoft’s plans for the handheld space during a closed-door discussion with The Verge, where he stated:
“I would say 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. 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.”
Jason Ronald, Microsoft VP
While Jason’s comments are somewhat vague and seem to focus more on Windows in general for handheld consoles, the company’s vision to simplify the experience and make it more like using a console is intriguing. According to Ronald, we obviously won’t be seeing the Xbox operating system directly on Windows. Instead, the goal is to make Windows a go-to platform for gaming on any device. This is great news for current handhelds utilizing Windows such as the ROG Ally and Legion Go (even though the latter is getting a SteamOS model in May this year). He further added:
“The reality is the Xbox operating system is built on top of Windows. So there’s a lot of infrastructure that we built in the console space that we can bring to the PC space and really deliver that premium gaming experience on any device.”
Jason Ronald, Microsoft VP
Rumors of a potential 2026 release might be overly optimistic, as the launch of the Xbox Handheld doesn’t seem imminent. The company still appears to be figuring out what works best in the handheld space. However, Ronald did hint that Microsoft will “have a lot more to share later this year.”
