Over the past year, Microsoft has explicitly teased its next generation plans, as the Xbox Series X/S continues to lag behind its competitors.
While we’ve heard the company boldly proclaim its next console will see ‘the biggest technological leap ever in a generation’, there have also been several clear indications that it is pursuing the handheld market – from both Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and Xbox president Sarah Bond.
Spencer has now confirmed Xbox is building prototypes for a handheld device, although it seems rumours of a 2026 release may be overly optimistic.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Spencer mentioned the ‘expectation is that we might do one thing’ within the handheld gaming market, earlier than confirming Microsoft is engaged on prototypes and contemplating find out how to market them.
According to the report, Spencer has requested his crew to analyse the hand held market and ‘develop its imaginative and prescient based mostly on what it learns’. Crucially, Spencer is famous as saying that any gadget remains to be a ‘few years out’.
While it’s unclear if this potential handheld would be the main mannequin for the subsequent technology, it feels like he’s merely ready to see what Nintendo pulls out of its hat with its impending Switch successor.
As for the close to future, Spencer notes that the corporate is seeking to enhance the Xbox app on current transportable gadgets, and associate with {hardware} corporations to ensure Xbox video games are in ‘sync’ with their platforms.
‘Longer time period, I like us constructing gadgets,’ Spencer added. ‘And I believe our crew may do some actual revolutionary work, however we wish to be told by studying and what’s taking place now.’
In the identical interview, Spencer mentioned there are no ‘red lines’ when it comes to bringing Xbox games to other platforms. Xbox has doubled down on its multiplatform strategy over the past year, with its next major exclusive, Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, set to come to PlayStation 5 in 2025.
With Nintendo, Valve, and (with the PlayStation Portal) Sony all finding success in the handheld space, it’s no surprise Xbox is planning a move into the market. The big question, which applies to its next gen plans in general, is what exactly Xbox can offer that the others don’t.
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