Phil Spencer confirms that Microsoft is working on an Xbox handheld

Microsoft and Xbox have been weirdly missing from the world of handheld gaming: Nintendo basically pioneered the market with the Game Boy line, and later revolutionized it with the DS and 3DS, while Sony found varying levels of success with the PlayStation Portable and its successor, the Vita.

Phil Spencer, the current CEO of Microsoft Gaming, is well aware of Xbox’s absence from the handheld gaming market, and he just revealed something quite fascinating about it. In an interview with Bloomberg, Spencer not only confirmed that Microsoft has plans of making a handheld device, but that the company is already working on prototypes and considering what exactly to make. However, he also confirmed that this device is still a few years away from becoming a reality.

Spencer also revealed that Microsoft is currently focusing on the untapped mobile market, with new developments like its partnership with Tencent in China and its desire to make the existing mobile Xbox app work better on portable devices, which he claims that many designers and engineers are already working on. Curiously enough, this isn’t the first time that the CEO of Microsoft Gaming expressed his desire to make a handheld, so it’s quite evident that the company has been working on this concept for quite a long time. But the question is: What is holding it back?

Is it too late for Xbox to enter the handheld market?

The idea of Xbox making its own handheld system would have made a lot more sense 15 years ago, when the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable were having a lot of critical and commercial success. But the entire gaming industry (and portable technology in general) has changed a lot ever since, so it’s hard to tell if a potential Xbox portable device would work, let alone if it’s even necessary.

For starters, I can’t help but wonder what exactly is Spencer and Microsoft working on. Modern audiences will not receive a brand-new handheld very well, seeing as they can play pretty much whatever they want on their smartphones. The company could also be working on a hybrid Xbox console, similar to the Nintendo Switch, which would also be quite odd, considering that it has collaborated with Nintendo to release some of its games on that system and has plans to keep doing it.

A good option for Microsoft right now would be to release a handheld device that would let gamers play any games they purchased on Xbox and PC, which would work like its own version of the Steam Deck. But that’s precisely where another problem lies: Most people already play their Xbox games on Steam’s handheld, so there wouldn’t really be a need for Microsoft to make its own.

Lastly, their biggest opportunity is definitely tied to Xbox Game Pass, since it’s evident that most people would love to play their Game Pass titles on the go. When looking at all of these issues and possibilities, it’s easy to understand why Spencer claimed that the company is still considering what to make and that he’s sure it will take some time for this potential handheld to come out.