Xbox “Should Have a Handheld,” Says Phil Spencer

During IGN Live 2024, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer spoke about the future of gaming on Xbox. When asked about an Xbox handheld, Spencer said that “we should have a handheld”. It is important to note, however, that Spencer hasn’t made any official confirmation about an Xbox handheld device yet.

“I like my ROG Ally, my Lenovo Legion Go, my Steam Deck,” responded Spencer when asked whether a hypothetical Xbox handheld would be a dedicated gaming device or if it would make some use of game streaming. “I think being able to play games locally is very important.”

In the interview, Spencer also mentioned that an announcement like that would likely be made by Xbox president Sarah Bond.

“I don’t want to say anything,” said Spencer. “You’d have to have Sarah on. Sarah Bond, our president of Xbox. But the future for us in hardware is pretty awesome. And the work that the team is doing around different form factors, different ways to play, I’m incredibly excited.”

“We will have a time to come out and talk more about platform, and we can’t wait to bring them to you guys.”

Rumours of an Xbox handheld have been going around for quite some time, especially thanks to the explosion of the market segment with hardware releases like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally. Back in March, rumours came about that Microsoft was internally prototyping an Xbox handheld that would run games natively.

Curiously enough, Spencer had said back in August last year that Microsoft doesn’t quite see the need for an Xbox handheld, since devices like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally already cover that market segment well enough. Earlier this year, Spencer had said that there was “nothing to announce” with regards to an Xbox handheld.