Polygon has an expansive interview with Phil Spencer where he covers a variety of topics, though most interesting of all for Xbox fans is his seeming want for a handheld Xbox.
You can find the full article here but we’ll break it down a bit and put up some choice quotes below.
When asked how Phil would make PC handhelds like the ROG Ally from Asus and Lenovo’s Legion Go “more Xbox”
“I want my Lenovo Legion Go to feel like an Xbox,” Spencer told Polygon in an interview during the annual Game Developers Conference. “I brought [the Legion Go] with me to GDC. I’m on the airplane and I have this list of everything that makes it not feel like an Xbox. Forget about the brand. More like: Are all of my games there? Do all my games show up with the save [files] that I want? I’ll tell you one [game] that doesn’t right now — it’s driving me crazy — is Fallout 76. It doesn’t have cross-save.
“I want to be able to boot into the Xbox app in a full screen, but in a compact mode. And all of my social [experience] is there. Like I want it to feel like the dash of my Xbox when I turn on the television. [Except I want it] on those devices.”
Phil expanded on his thoughts on how an Xbox handheld would help the company and its developers.
“From a game creator standpoint,” Spencer said, “I can then go build a single version of my game that spans more hardware and reaches more customers. And I would say for players, it reduces the friction. Like, if I want to go play my console games on the go with a handheld, I don’t want to only be able to buy one brand of handheld. Right? […] I want everything that we’re doing in the hardware space to be great. But if somebody chooses to go play today [somewhere else], I don’t want them to feel like a lesser Xbox [player].”
You can find the full interview over at Polygon and it is well worth a read. What are your thoughts about a potential Xbox handheld? Sound off in the comments below
Xbox handheld is prob the only way I’d stay in the Xbox hardware ecosystem in some form as I’m pretty much moved to PC now, it’s 100% happening so I hope it’s convincing!
What specs do you have?
Doesn’t sound like a guy that wants to stop making xbox hardware. In fact looks like Xbox is getting a new category of hardware.
Hope people stop freaking out about hardware now.
I have a steam deck but would love a real xbox portable. They have the ecosystem and resources to pull off something pretty cool.
Running DD2 alright. 60FPS out in the open world, 30 in crowded areas, mostly max settings (no RT) at 1440p.
Though for the most part anything I throw at it at 1440p max settings is 60.
We are going to see more Xbox hardware than ever before. In 2026 we may see a Handheld with Series S specs, and another 2 tiered launch with a Pro and Value console.
Image them launching a 500$ series S handheld, a 300$ Series s2 and a 600$ Series X 2.
Releasing a handheld at the same time as a Switch 2 is probably the worst time to release it. It needs to be before it.
It won’t be in competition with the Switch 2.
I’ve said if they’re not differentiating their consoles with their software, they’re doing it with the hardware.
Expect more and more unique Xbox HW.
Xbox handheld is unlikely releasing next year and when it does launch it will almost certainly be much more powerful than whatever Nintendo is offering
They are already competing against Playstation and considered “losing” so might as well try something different
Personally I think offering a high end handheld is much more compelling to people out there than a basic console that’s more or less neck and neck with a PS in hardware
I love my ROG Ally but if I could get a proper Xbox handheld that let’s me access my massive Xbox 3rd party library it would be a day zero purchase for me.