has discussed more of its plans for an handheld, as it attempts to combine the Xbox dashboard and Windows.
After the , Microsoft’s future in the games industry remains a issue of hot debate, even within the company itself. What we do know though is that they’re working on both and a handheld.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has prototypes are underway for a portable device, which will be a ‘few years out’. It’s never been confirmed but that alone implies the handheld is the next gen console.
Another is that it might not be made by Microsoft itself, and will instead see the Xbox operating system being placed on third party devices, such as Lenovo or ROG Ally handhelds.
While Microsoft hasn’t given an explicit answer on the subject, Microsoft’s vice president of ‘Next Generation’, Jason Ronald, has said it is planning on combining Xbox and Windows in order to bolster its plans in the space.
Speaking during an AMD and Lenovo event at CES titled The Future Of Gaming Handhelds, Ronald said: ‘We’ve been really innovating for a long time in the console space, and as we partner across the industry it’s really about how do we bring those innovations that we’ve incubated and developed in the console space and bring them to PC and bring them to the handheld gaming space.’
Ronald later spoke to after the event, where he went into further detail about Microsoft’s intentions in the handheld space.
‘I would say it’s bringing the best of Xbox and Windows together, because we have spent the last 20 years building a world-class operating system, but it’s really locked to the console,’ he added. ‘What we’re doing is we’re really focused on how do we bring those experiences for both players and developers to the broader Windows ecosystem.’
While his comments are pretty vague, and appear to apply more generally to Windows on handhelds at large, Ronald does state that the company is ‘focused on really simplifying’ the Windows functionality so it is ‘much more like a console experience’.
As for how this will look in practice, Ronald implied it wouldn’t simply involve porting the Xbox operating system to Windows. ‘I think, at the end of the day, our goal is to make Windows great for gaming on any device,’ he added.
‘The reality is the Xbox operating system is built on top of Windows. So there’s a lot of infrastructure that we built in the console space that we can bring to the PC space and really deliver that premium gaming experience on any device.’
Ronald also teased Microsoft will ‘have a lot more to share later this year’, implying some kind of overhauled integration between Windows and Xbox could be on the way soon – something which might propel its future handheld plans.
Elsewhere at the event, Lenovo officially announced the Lenovo Legion Go S. This new handheld is essentially a sleeker version of the Legion Go without detachable controllers and a kickstand.
Crucially, while the Lenovo Legion Go S will launch with the Windows operating system later this month, a future model will come packaged with the SteamOS. This is the first time a handheld outside of Valve will carry the Steam operating system.
The Windows 11 version will begin shipping later this month, priced $729.99 (UK prices are not listed) with the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. In May, Lenovo will launch a cheaper $599.99 model, with the same processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB storage.
According to , the Steam variant will launch at the same time in May, only it will be even cheaper at $499.99 with Z2 Go processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB storage. For comparison, the Steam Deck and the Steam Deck OLED are available in the for $399 and $549 respectively, so it’s competitively priced too.
Lenovo also announced its next generation handheld, the Legion Go 2, which is still in the prototype stage but will sport an 8.8 inch OLED display with VRR support, 32GB of RAM and 2TB of SSD storage. No release date or price for the device has been released.
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