Microsoft is closely rumored to be getting ready to launch an official Xbox handheld, and whereas he stopped in need of asserting it in a brand new interview, Xbox boss Phil Spencer went as far to say what he desires from it.
Talking in an interview with Polygon, Spencer mentioned varied current PC gaming handhelds, itemizing every thing that he would add to the expertise of utilizing them to make them “really feel like an Xbox.” This contains gaining access to all of your video games with related save information, having the ability to boot into the Xbox app full-screen however in a compact mode, and having all of the social experiences usually discovered on Xbox. “Like I would like it to really feel just like the sprint of my Xbox once I activate the tv,” Spencer stated. “[Except I want it] on these units.”
Spencer danced across the existence of an Xbox handheld all through the interview, insisting {hardware} innovation linked with software program innovation creates “actual inflection factors in our business”, pointing to the success of the Nintendo Wii within the course of.
Spencer then confirmed the Xbox {hardware} staff is contemplating “totally different {hardware} kind elements and issues that [they] may go do”. “What ought to we construct that can discover new gamers?” Spencer added. “That can enable individuals to play at occasions once they couldn’t go play [in the past]?”
That sounds lots like an Xbox handheld! Final yr, leaked courtroom paperwork revealed plans to create an Xbox handheld, though Spencer himself got here out to say the plans have been outdated. In February, Microsoft introduced a multi-year roadmap that features a next-generation Xbox sooner or later regardless of the corporate’s plan to go multi-platform with a few of its video games.
On the time, Xbox President Sarah Bond teased “some thrilling stuff popping out in {hardware}” that Microsoft plans to share this vacation. Might this be the Xbox handheld? Microsoft has confirmed it plans an Xbox Showcase occasion for June 2024 — maybe we’ll discover out extra then.
Wesley is the UK Information Editor for IGN. Discover him on Twitter at @wyp100. You’ll be able to attain Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.