This one should interest @Mort (it’s good news if true)
Damn! XboxEra podcast really did break the news first. I found it a little too hard to believe they’d launch a product without their own hardware first but I guess it’s true.
A very interesting couple of years ahead. Asus launching a handheld this year should mean the software stack is almost ready to go.
I took the Partner Device in 2025 as an Xbox branded/themed handheld PC and not the “xbox handheld” that runs your Xbox games.
Handheld isn’t easy as console when you think about it.
This bit makes me more hopeful indeed:
“Because indeed, our sources also indicate that Microsoft’s internal successor to the Xbox Series X|S platform has been fully greenlit all the way up to CEO Satya Nadella. For now, I understand that Microsoft’s next-gen hardware plans include a premium successor to the powerful Xbox Series X”
I’ll believe it when I see it of course, but WC putting it in an article bodes well.
We shall wait and see i suppose. If it can run emulators and allow me to gain access to ALL my gaming library in one sitting, i would be happy. However i do think they need to market their intentions soon, cause having this kinda thing leak out could have changes to the plan itself.
The plans already changed to this (recall the FTC leak). I’m not sure why every single thing has to have a negative spin with you 
Because Xbox has fumbled many times historically, which tells me to be at the very least skeptical of this information even if it sounds good.
However i can say if this is truly legit? I think it would minimize MANY of the issues current customers were having with Xbox’s current strategy.
There’s a wide ocean between being skeptical and repeating the same exact talking points across the forum. Take it as you will.
Gotta start saving up for 2027 then!
I had a feeling an OEM handheld would come first after Jason Ronald said we’d see more about optimizing Windows for gaming later this year and Phil said their handheld was a few years out.
I am super curious and I might even bite knowing full well this thing is going to have issues to sort out.
Make a Switch-like hybrid Steam+Game pass machine and you have my moolah.
I’ve been down on team X over the last few months but since I’ve re-upped my Ultimate and finally started playing Indy over the weekend I’ve been in a more positive mood. That game is over achieving my expectations by a good amount. I’m really enjoying it.
After reading this today I’m feeling a lot better about the brand. After I buy the Switch first I’ll be allocating funds right to this fellow if true. I look at my fairly extensive library and see so many games I’d rather play on handheld - and have largely held off playing because they are of the handheld kind. Games like Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII and ANNO 1800.
This is really good news and I hope it ends up being true.
Why do all headlines say handheld coming this year when it should be said it’s possibly just other PC makers releasing their Xbox PC Store version of a handheld? It almost seems like some outlets are trying to create that confusion for people early on when it should be said this most likely Willy only be a ROG Ally Xbox branded PC with better integration?
Also, is Eurogamer really using a Game Gear as their screen and couldn’t come up with a better mockup? Like, almost trying to send negative vibes about the Xbox handheld.
You mean they are trying to get clicks over other sites?
That’s the point. Don’t expect the media to change their tune, no matter how many fumbles Sony or Nintendo equally have, because their entire purpose seems to be attempting to bury Xbox with every tiny bit of disinformation to turn people off.
That’s not to say that I don’t think there should be acceptance (change requires complaint and action), I just don’t expect this falling empire of media to realize that their downfall is their own fault, until it’s far too late.
Good to see that Xbox hardware will still be exciting, all these next gen leaks sound hype, especially if it really is a hybrid but even more if the handheld version is real and runs all 3rd party games as well, obviously with less power like Series S is today, if that happens and is marketed well I can see it doing very well and probably getting Xbox back to a higher market share and it might even make Sony make their own handheld again, depending on how well this does, interesting times ahead.
I hope this is something more than just another PC handheld with an Xbox branding. It sounds like a ROG with Xbox branding but if it is then surely, they could have done this earlier. I would seriously hope it’s a device that brings with it the full Xbox library and not just Play Anywhere titles.
Imo it likely will have the updated Xbox OS that Jason Ronald teased earlier this year. But tuned for Windows gaming, with the 2027 release being the Xbox succesor that can do both.