In 2024, Microsoft’s gaming chief Phil Spencer said that he wanted handheld gaming PCs to feel more like an Xbox. But as the saying goes, if you want something done right, do it yourself. Thus, Microsoft is reportedly working on its own handheld Xbox PC console.
The console, code-named “Keenan,” is apparently so far along in development that it may debut in 2025, according to Windows Central. Details are still scarce, including the dimensions, how much it would cost, and what would be inside it. What is apparent, however, is that it will give the new handheld a decidedly Xbox look and feel, something that Spencer made a point of last year.
However, Spencer also previously indicated that an Xbox handheld is apparently “a few years away,” according to a November 2024 interview, and that Microsoft was just in the prototype stage. Wrong!(?)
Remember, “Xbox” encompasses Microsoft’s gaming aspirations on both the console and the PC. Windows Central reports that the new handheld should run Windows (surprise!), and the “Xbox” gaming app for Windows serves as a gateway to cloud gaming on the PC.
Some people already say that there are too many handheld game consoles out there already, with Valve’s Steam Deck dominating the competition. But we’ve already seen traditional PC makers like Asus jump in, eager to seize upon any new way to expand market share. Right now, there’s plenty of room: as of February, just 6 million handheld PCs have been sold to date, with an estimated 1.9 million handhelds to go out the door this year. That’s way off the 273 million PCs expected to be sold this year alone, according to IDC — indicating either a young market… or one no one really cares much about. We’ll see.
To date, Microsoft has built its own PCs under the Surface brand, but this handheld won’t be in that line. Windows Central reports that Microsoft will be teaming up with another PC maker to manufacture these handheld Xbox consoles. (Sometimes a PC maker will use a “white box” PC maker like Compal for design and assembly, slapping its own name on the finished product. That doesn’t seem to be the case here.)
It’s unclear how seriously Microsoft takes the concept of handheld PCs. But consider how Microsoft arguably botched the entire mobile smartphone category, from killing off Windows Phone to failing at a dual-screen smartphone. Today, it survives with a number of mobile apps. A handheld could be a backdoor into that space again.
Windows Central reports that this new handheld has the blessing of Satya Nadella himself, so that’s a good sign that this not-a-Surface Xbox handheld will eventually… surface. We’ve been arguing for years that Microsoft should build an Xbox gaming laptop. Maybe we’re finally getting one for the palm of your hand.
Further reading: How Microsoft plans to kill the Steam Deck