Microsoft has reportedly “sidelined” the development of its long-teased first-party handheld gaming device as it focuses its attention on third-party portable opportunities, including ASUS’ Project Kennan, which is supposedly still due this year.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer first discussed an Xbox handheld back in 2017, when he revealed Microsoft had “roughly designed” one in the past, and it’s a subject he’s repeatedly returned to in recent years, fuelling speculation the project had been revived.
Now, though, Windows Central claims Microsoft has had a bit of a strategic rethink, and development of its own handheld device has been “sidelined”.
According to the publication’s source, the company has internally announced it’ll instead “prioritise its teams to improve Windows 11 gaming performance, specifically for devices like the ASUS partner device Project Kennan” (NB.
It doesn’t sound like Microsoft is completely abandoning its own handheld plans, however; Windows Central says the company “still has big ambitions and is investing heavily to deliver a native Xbox handheld”, but third-party devices and Windows 11 improvements will be where it focuses its resources for now.
In order to concentrate on third-party portable opportunities, such as ASUS’ Project Kennan, which is allegedly still due this year, Microsoft has reportedly “sidelined” the development of its long-teased first-party handheld gaming device.
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer first brought up the topic of an Xbox handheld in 2017 when he disclosed that Microsoft had “roughly designed” one in the past. Since then, he has brought up the topic frequently, which has fueled rumors that the project has been given new life. Windows Central then revealed in March that Microsoft had decided on a multifaceted handheld strategy and would be collaborating with a third party to release an Xbox-branded portable gaming PC this year under the codename Kennan, while it worked on an internally developed device that would be released in 2027 alongside a successor to the Xbox Series X/S.
Microsoft has reportedly “sidelined” the development of its own handheld device as a result of a strategic rethink, according to Windows Central. The source of the article claims that the business has made an internal announcement that it will instead “prioritise its teams to improve Windows 11 gaming performance, specifically for devices like the ASUS partner device Project Kennan” (NB. The website first reported this in March under the name “Keenan,” but it has since changed its original report. Although Windows Central states that Microsoft “still has big ambitions and is investing heavily to deliver a native Xbox handheld,” it doesn’t sound like the company is giving up on its own handheld plans entirely. Instead, it will concentrate its resources on third-party devices and Windows 11 enhancements for the time being.
Regarding Project Kennan in particular, the website states that while the hardware portion of the project is “essentially finished,” the Windows and Xbox teams are now working on a “significantly boosted effort” to “improve the experience on the software side.”. However, the Xbox-branded ASUS device is still scheduled to launch “later this year.”.
Given growing competition elsewhere, Microsoft’s decision to refocus on providing sufficient infrastructure for third-party devices running Windows 11 may not come as a complete surprise. Valve stated in January that it has been working to bring SteamOS, the operating system that powers Steam Deck, to third-party handheld gaming, and the operating system is currently available on a number of devices, including the recently released Lenovo Legion Go S, an official partner machine.
In addition to its plans for handheld devices, Microsoft is still working on the Xbox Series X/S successor, which, according to former Xbox president Sarah Bond, will provide “the largest technical leap that you will have ever seen in a hardware generation.”. The company is reportedly working on “next-gen Xbox cloud systems” to bring latency closer to NVIDIA’s GeForce Now service, and there are currently “three prototype devices in development for Microsoft’s Gen-10 effort,” according to Windows Central.
