Microsoft’s Reported Xbox Handheld Is A Decision That Finally Makes Sense

While Microsoft says it’s not getting out of the hardware game, despite plummeting Xbox Series X/S sales this generation, there does appear to be a new device coming that actually makes perfect sense, and may be a rare advantage it has over Sony going forward.

This week, Windows Central published an exclusive report confirming that an Xbox-branded handheld is coming, and will actually launch at the end of this year. This is not exactly just…a portable Xbox, but something closer to a PC handheld the way we’ve seen with the extremely popular Valve Steam Deck, seen above.

But the report says this will certainly be Xbox-branded from its buttons to its logos to even a Guide button. Though the point here is apparently to produce a PC device that will use the Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass. But, as we know, if you buy a first party game for Xbox you also get it in the Microsoft store so in that sense, it sort of does operate like a portable Xbox for some titles.

This is not the next generation Xbox. That is still a thing that is coming. But this device arriving potentially at the end of this year is a big deal, and is a one-up on Sony who well, does not have a portable PlayStation device. At least not yet. There have been rumblings it’s making one, but despite its history with the PSP and Vita, it is not going to be first to market. And Microsoft has an innate advantage with its integrated PC capabilities.

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Sony has also had a bit of a rough time with the PS5 Pro, a device which has had at least some measure of technical problems where at times, its upgrades are failing to impress or even on occasion, making some games look worse. There have been issues with PSSR specifically, but it’s just been announced that the upcoming FSR 4 will improve that. Meanwhile, Microsoft is skipping a mid-gen upgrade. You can view that as smart, or you can view that as obvious given the lack of sales of the two models it already has.

What we don’t know is the price of the Xbox/PC Handheld. Using the Steam Deck as comparison, we have:

• $400 – 256 GB, LCD
• $550 – 512 GB, OLED
• $650 – 1 TB, OLED

So, only one of those is cheaper than the current Xbox Series X, and the others escalate the price rather quickly. Still, this seems like a great path for Xbox to go down, and if it can get it out before the holiday season with PlayStation’s concept for a similar device still ages away? That’s a big win.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.