Rumour: Xbox Expected To Join Switch 2 With A New Handheld This Year

"Run on Windows" is honestly the most concerning thing there. I guess that'll mean good compatibility with PC games, but the last few versions have become so bloated and invasive that I just avoid using computers entirely at this point.

Wouldn't it technically be competing with Valve in that regard?

So basically every other handheld on the now over saturated pc handheld market.

Microsoft will never sell units without exclusives.

Only a matter of time before PlayStation joins in, and from there competition will really heat up through the handheld market.

@Ultimapunch
If it supports the 1000's of Xbox 360 games and also Xbox One games, it can already run games PC Handheld's can't emulate yet.
A huge amount of 360 games were never released on PC or any other console.
Getting Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Forza 4 and whatever portable for the first time.

360 and One emulation are still in early stages...

Phil Spencer use the same handheld as me, Legion Go and is why he wanted a Xbox Handheld.

He love Legion Go, but said Legion, Rog Ally, Steam Deck etc. isn't designed for casual people, but for PC Gamers.

@Toastmaster Xbox and Xbox 360 game support would be a reason to get it for me, but I kind of doubt it. Would be cool, though.

Who cares tbh. Nintendo has the treasure trove of IP's Microsoft would sell their own Grandma for.

tell me the loser of the next handheld race without telling me the loser of the next handheld race

Well, if it’s going to be an american made product it’s going to be very expensive.

@MrCarlos46 Maybe. I think the Vita burn still hurts them though.

I don't expect this to be very popular honestly. Could be wrong of course, but with the Steam Deck already out, and this likely to be at a similar-ish price, I don't see much need for this thing, personally.

And if people just want a handheld PC, laptops and tablets exist.

The appeal of a Microsoft specific handheld is a bit lost on me. Unless they just really make it that much cheaper than the Steam Deck, I guess.

Xbox is no more, dead and done. Now Nintendo competition is PlayStation and Windows/SteamOS PCs. But if Nintendo will sell the Nintendo Switch 2 at low price there will be no chance for all. Five times more powerful than Nintendo Switch, with Nintendo games, integrated voice chat, long battery runtime, optical sensors and its exquisite hybrid nature. Nintendo Switch was already great, this new one is going to be perfect.
But don't get the selling price wrong!

@MrCarlos46 But if Sony made another handheld, they'd probably continue the tradition of flopping upon release. The question being whether they'll care to turn it around (PSP) or not (Vita).

Looks like a stopgap solution to remind people that Xbox still exists, even if it's rebranded third-party hardware under the hood.

For their future handheld strategy, they would be wise to go for an ARM architecture to distinguish themselves from the competition. And work on making Windows more handheld gaming friendly.

I mean... if Microsoft is still planning to bring their Xbox IP to Switch 2 anyways, I feel no incentive to buy this. I never got a Steam Deck or a PS Portal, so unless this thing is able to launch Steam and give you access to that whole library as well as compatability with PlayStation cloud streaming, this is a hard pass for me. Will still be neat to see the last of the "big three" finally release their own handheld, but I think the window of opportunity for such a system is long passed.

As a consumer, I really appreciate Microsoft's willingness to go multiplatform with all their properties. Cuphead on Switch felt like such an unrealistic pipe dream and is still one of the most hype Switch moments for me personally. I'm grateful to them for what they've been doing. But from a business perspective, it seems like they're just shooting themselves in the foot if they want to remain in the console race.

XBOX handheld will be DOA product.

The difference is that the Switch 2 (and OG Switch) are not dedicated handhelds.

They are primarily a home console that has the option of being used as a handheld, should you choose to do so.

That's how I've always viewed mine anyway. Home console first, handheld second.

I've had my Switch since day 1 and id say it's spent 95% of it's playing time sat in it's dock hooked up to the TV.

Those percentages aren't likely to change when I get a Switch 2

They should probably start trying to sell more Xbox consoles before worrying about new hardware.

@Ultimapunch Very much undermined by how much they go on about how they want to share thier games on other platforms!!!

@Member_the_game

Always a pleasure to meet another docked gamer!
55" TV screen > 6" Switch screen

What am I going to do? Whip out my Switch for 5 minutes of gaming at the doctor's office waiting room?

Microsoft really love wasting money making hardware if this is to believe just like how they love wasting money buying studios/IPs and not utilizing them. If you don't care about your hardware success and only care about the success of your software then by all mean stop making hardware and just focus on your software please cause we already had other hardware (Switch, AYA Neo, ROG Ally, Steam Deck, GPD Win 4, PlayStation Portal, etc.) that did your job for you Microsoft.

Could be interesting as that market still is maturing. I'm not a fan of Steam OS while devices running Windows desktop is way below optimal. A dedicated Windows version for handhelds looks the natural convergence. The next Xbox could be essentially a PC console.

It would be really interesting if the other console manufacturers made portables their priority. Kind of acknowledging the diminishing returns of graphical fidelity. I'm sure they prefer Nintendo in their own space though...
I got a Retroid 5 recently to play Brutal Doom and New Vegas on the go. I have always preferred portables. I'd probably buy whatever MS portable so long as it was just a game console.

@N00BiSH They have already been doing that with PC Gamepass and XBox GamePass Ultimate (which I have).

I really like XBox Gamepass Ultimate and XBox in general in that a lot of games I buy on XBox I can download natively on my PC via the XBox App and so choose whenever I want to play on TV or retreat back to my PC (when TV is occupied).
Then with Ultimate I also have access to XBox Cloud gaming, which works great too now.

Since I also own a PS5 and Sony finally added Cloud streaming to the Portal, I just bought the Portal. Really nice handheld device and the 8inch screen is perfect. So gives me an idea how gaming will be on the Switch 2 with a larger 8inch screen.
It's still a bit small though for certain games, where its hard to read the text still.

I reckon it's going to be just another x86 portable gaming device like many others already out there, just slapped with Xbox branding everywhere and Game Pass as the star of the show.

@MontyCircus

100% mate.... don't get me wrong theres definitely a time and a place for handheld gaming and I appreciate everyone's circumstances will be different regarding access to the TV.... But personally I'd never choose to play in handheld mode if I didn't have too.

There probably is the odd exception but I'd say the only times I've really used it in handheld mode for any length of time is when I've took it on holiday to entertain myself on the plane

…then why develop for Switch 2, Microsoft?

They should just have Gamepass natively on Steamdeck and Switch 2. no one is likely to buy a 3rd handheld. you have the Nintendo and you have the PC one - surely an 'Xbox' one is juts a more limited PC one?

More hardware to flop then, they are entering the handheld market which hasn't really took off apart from the Switch and that's because it's an hybrid with exclusives and simple design. This Xbox handheld won't be an hybrid, won't have exclusives and if it's running windows then it definitely won't be simple to use.

I cant see them doing that well off this - I think part of the appeal of Switch and Steam deck are the ease of use (Steam deck does need some tinkering at times) but both have great OS's in my opinion. Having a handheld running Windows just isnt something I'd want. The Xbox handheld would need its own custom OS to survive I feel

Really not interested in another (handheld pc)
Steamdeck earned that spot, i think a steamdeck 2 will do great next to the switch.
I am not interested in a microsoft handheld.

For me its only switch and pc this time.
A next Xbox console (yes) handheld (no)

Xbox has options. They can continue the console business, push the subscription service, go 3rd party, build a Steamdeck competitor…

…I just wonder why they are spending money on all of these options? Jack of all trades….

Wait Xbox are doing their own Steam deck?
Erm, great way to throw away your money

If the switch 2 gets the master chief collection I’ll be all set. But maybe a handheld Xbox will be more appealing to their consumers than the traditional console box.

@KoopaTheGamer Xbox Handheld is pointless if it's just a PC Handheld.
I think it will use Xbox console firmware which means 360 is supported too.

NGL if Microsoft decides to sell a handheld gaming PC like the many on the market, but sell it at a similar price to whatever Nintendo do for the Switch 2 (because Microsoft can afford to sell at a loss)... This will absolutely cannibalise Nintendo's market share 😂.

I hate to sound like a Nintendo-fanboy, but this is folly.

Nevermind that Nintendo has systematically wielded their excellent exclusive output to pretty much obliterate any challenger in the handheld space for as long as I´ve been alive...

Casual players will gravitate to their mobile phone App-stores, and PC-master-race-players already have a Steam Deck. Playstation might get some traction with a 2nd gen Portal that also works without a PS5 connection, but Microsoft? I play most 3rd party releases on my Series X these days, so I´m not inherently against Microsoft making hardware, but this seems... misguided.

Honestly I´d rather see Valve make a Deck 2 and a proper Steam Console that can just live under my TV.

It will flop because it will run on windows, have no exclusives, and becasue the handheld PC gaming market is not that lucrative.
The steamdeck has only sold 4 million in what is it 3 or 4 years?
In console terms that's a dire flop. Microsoft will not beat the steamdeck.

Yea, the handheld gaming PC market is getting crowded as is and they want to put money towards that? Valve and Nintendo have handhelds cornered right now so good luck to them I guess

I don’t know. Could be a big blunder for MS. Or it could be the start of their exit from the dedicated console space. If this is popular who’s to say the next XBox won’t just run windows, be more PC oriented and capable running other software like steam? I don’t have any real information but it just feels to me like MS is less committed to consoles as a concept than either as Sony or Nintendo. With AAA game development going through something of a crisis, maybe one of the big three is going to adjust their business strategy. It would make sense to me it that turned out to be MS.

So far, it has sold as many units as the Switch 2. Well done Microsoft, you can definitely call this a success.

Call of duty war zone is already on Switch which I hasn’t realised until the other day. @Liam_Doolan

@Yosher Yeah, considering the hand held pc market is tiny. The Steam Deck total estimate sales put it at 4mil. I don't think there is as big a pie to grab a slice of as everyone seems to think.

I don't mind, given that my Steam Deck screen no longer turns on.

New handheld supposedly coming out
-> "Nah, I barely even use my Switch out of the dock. Handheld market is actually tiny."

New dedicated home tv console is coming out
-> "I can't remember the last time I played a game on my TV"

🤣

this bird will not fly.

@Member_the_game I'm the other way around I spend 90% of my Switch time on my Lite, I only spend 10% on the TV when we play coop games.

I have a xbox one x and if i'm not on my switch im most likely playing the xbox but I'll just stick with nintendo handhelds.

Unless Microsoft can make an actual Xbox portable, rather than a portable PC featuring Xbox branding, it won't matter much against the Switch 2 (nor the Switch). If console and mobile games have extra barriers to playing their games, then they'll walk on by it.

@Champalimo

I suppose that's the beauty of it....... it can be whatever you want it to be rather one specific thing or the other

I really like my Steam Deck, so if Microsoft can do something as good I'm game. As long as I'm not locked out of my Steam titles.

Windows has been a disaster for handheld gaming. Maybe Microsoft can directly fix that but I doubt it. It's way too cumbersome for gameplay. Seems like Microsoft is willing to straddle the fence instead of just committing to one thing. They need to get out of the hardware industry and focus solely on being a third party publisher in my opinion.

@Thomystic If your Deck is out of warranty you could try a DeckHD screen upgrade: https://www.deckhd.com/index

If my Deck's screen ever dies that's what I'm going to do, as it's out of warranty already. What is there to lose?

I doubt it'll be able to compete with the steam deck. It's been the best handheld gaming device released in almost a decade.

With both PlayStation and Xbox joining the handheld market switch 2 needs to hit the deck running. As 2027/2028 will see some real though competition and at that point Nintendo switch 2 install base might only be around 35million.

I am not interested in any Xbox games, and isn't that the reason to get a certain console.

There are already a million and one Windows-based handhelds on the market. If this can't play everything from Alleycat to the classic Sims to most emulators to the latest AAA games, I see no point whatsoever in Microsoft joining the handheld rat race, because they'd have bugger-all exclusives to lure customers otherwise.

"Unmistakably Xbox", "Xbox design sensibilities"

It's like they're trying to drive people away!

nintendo dominates the handheld market so anything that microsofts or even sony getting into that market again wont end well

A lot of salt in this thread and I am probably at odds with most. Would happily wield an Xbox handheld with a dedicated gaming UI along with SW2.

SD is an excellent bit of kit but it can't run Gamepass directly unless you sideload Windows.

If anything, Sony would be my least interest for a handheld as they have proven time and time again that they can't support (or not interested) their hardware outside their main console. If I'm honest, Sony has very little franchises that interest me that I can't play elsewhere.

I honestly can't think of a worse year for Microsoft to test the waters.

That’s nice honey, the therapist’s office is over there.

@AllBLK They probably plan on doing so, they’re just trying to make it seem like it’s not because Xbox isn’t doing so hot and instead make it seem like it’s because the console market is a dying industry.

Seems like a weird idea to release a handheld device a couple years before your own in-house model.

Also, at this point, what does "unmistakably Xbox" mean? Unless it just has the big "X" emblazoned across it, like the original.

This all sounds a little SEGA. How long until they just concentrate on software.

In many years time dedicated consoles won’t be made anymore.

I would love an Xbox handheld, but a Windows handheld ain’t it. I own hundreds of games on Xbox and I am absolutely not rebuying a single one of them on Windows. Microsoft can offer free Windows versions of first party games but they don’t have the authority to give you Windows licenses for third party games. What a mess.

If Microsoft put as much effort in as they have with the Series X and S, Nintendo do not have much to worry about. Microsoft only seem interested in subscriptions.

@axelhander Thanks for the tip!

So, not Switch, but not Steam Deck, but doing something different enough that people will care, starting with Xbox fans. We shall see what the future holds.

@Bunkerneath No one in their right mind would buy a Steam deck today. Especially for the price it's going here in Europe.
I can buy the new Rog Ally X for less than the Steam deck OLED is going for here.

Unless you into purely retro gaming, the hardware in Steam deck is sorely outdated and Valve needs to come up with a new gen Steam deck this year to stay relevant.
None of the latest big titles run on Steam deck and if they do, good luck playing it in a blurry stuttering mess.

Seeing how good XBox Cloud is today (took a while to get there), Microsoft could just launch a PS Portal competitor focused on XBox Cloud gaming. This way they can keep the price low, like the Portal.
I am all for it, to be honest, seeing how quickly the hardware in these handhelds (that run games natively) get outdated.
It's why I didn't buy Steam deck or any of these PC handhelds. Paying up to over 1000 euro for a handheld that will be outdated again in 2-3 years.

The closer MS gets to an Xbox OS for consumers, the better for me.

İ want to see handheld console from Xbox.
Nintendo and Sony did maybe this time it is the time for Xbox to make an handheld console. Nintendo Switch 2 is home and handheld console. Handheld from Xbox can be rival for Nintendo Switch 2.

@Tetsuro I agree with most of what you said. My only rebuttal would be that Nintendo and PlayStation haven’t necessarily been in competition with each other, at least from my perspective. Sure, in the early years when they were essentially the only console manufacturers, but I’ve always considered them their own separate entity and audiences. The fanbases are completely different, in a good way. PlayStation has only truly been competitive against Xbox. And PlayStation dominated them each generation aside from the first year or two of PS3’s lifecycle. PS had an incredibly slow start, while Microsoft got the jump early by releasing their console a year before if I’m not mistaken. With that said, I personally think the 360-era was the GOAT of gaming.

@Kraven In my opinion the market is the same. As a boy I bought many consoles, but it was one or the other, one at a time. Today, after giving my Switch to my children, I play with an Xbox SS, but I'll get rid of it for the Nintendo Switch 2 when it will launch. Pockets are the same, many can't afford multiple systems, other, like me, don't like to have multiple systems hanging around and replace them with a bew one from the same manufacturer or a different one.
Console market is one, then some buy multiple consoles, many more just one. Then, there are definitely people favoring one brand over the other, some also because of their costly games library built over time. That's argument especially valid for digital libraries because they aren't resellable. Luckily I haven't bought a single game for Xbox, I didn't trusted Microsoft, but I bought games fir Switch, so it will be an easy jump this time. 😁

I'm actually hopeful for this. I play my Switch in handheld mode nearly 100% of the time, and I've been using a Portal to play my Playstation. Still playing XBox on the TV, though. I'm a Nintendo first gamer, but if I could get the big games that don't come to Nintendo's platform on another portable device, that might fit my evolving gaming habits. Sony doesn't seem to care about the fans of older franchises like Socom and Killzone, so I am having second thoughts about getting the next Playstation at this point. Might jump ship and just be Nintendo and Microsoft next gen.

@MontyCircus I play half docked-half tabletop. My job has tons of downtime and I've blasted through several games while between phone calls and guests. I understand I'm in an unusual situation, though and I definitely have games I refuse to play handheld because I want a more immersive experience.

Go Microsoft, the closer they get to being real competition the harder Nintendo will work to impress us. More competition would be nice.

By 2027 the market will be stuffed with Switch 2. Good luck, MS. Too little, too late.

There more the merry....consoles get....Xbox console is PC games how does that even compare??? The Switch isn't about to give their library to xbox it's the other way around here.

There’s about to be a sea of handhelds out there. But only one will have a picture of Mario on the box.

That certainly is... a choice...

I'll give it 2 months tops

@Member_the_game
They can be either/or. I use it 99% handheld because I don't have time to sit in front of a TV.

That's why it works so well, it's what it needs to be for different people.

This is good news. Nintendo has been a bit too comfortable inside their bubble. As a result the Switch 2 plays it very safe so far. Hopefully more competition urges Nintendo to play their A-game again.

@Mommar

Yeah that's pretty much what I was saying

I hope it’ll have a better dpad than the rog ally, that is some plasticky lightweight garbage.

@8bit-Man Nintendo's follow-up consoles had always play it safe following the innovative ones.

All of Nintendo's innovative consoles:

• NES/Famicom (Standard Console)
• Game Boy (DMG Handheld)
• Super Game Boy (16-Bit Add-ons)
• Game Boy Advance (32-Bit LCD Handheld)
• N64 (3D Machine)
• Wii (Motion Controls)
• DS (Dual Screens)
• 3DS (3D Effect)
• 2DS (2D Effect)
• NES Classic Edition (Plug 'n Play)
• Switch (Hybrid)

All of Nintendo's play it safe consoles:

• Super NES/Super Famicom (Standard Console)
• Game Boy Color (DMG Handheld)
• Super Game Boy 2 (16-Bit Add-ons)
• Game Boy Micro (32-Bit LCD Handheld)
• GameCube (3D Machine)
• Wii U (Motion Controls)
• DSi (Dual Screens)
• New 3DS (3D Effect)
• New 2DS (2D Effect)
• Super NES Classic Edition (Plug 'n Play)
• Switch 2 (Hybrid)

They tried taking on Playstation and lost so now they are stepping into Nintendo's territory and will soon find out that's a losing battle as well. Without exclusives it just isn't going to sell many units, most PC players will just stick with the steam deck as the the Steam OS is so much better to work with than Windows. This handheld from Microsoft will just be for the hard core xbox gamers which who's numbers seem to be dwindling daily.

@Serpenterror claiming that the SNES wasn’t innovative 😂😂😂 or the GameCube. Which basically introduced the perfect controller. And even the Wii U which introduced touch screen controls in a home console.

@N00BiSH Not really. Gamers care more about specs and funcionnalities and they know the market. They know that a device running on windows is a disadvantage. In that regard, xbox competes directly with Steamdeck. But then there is another totally different market and arena: Casuals. This represent the largest chunk of sales. Casuals have no idea what Valve, or Steamdeck is, unless their kids ask specifically for one. To casuals, there are brands: PS, xbox and nintendo. Xbox is a console and will compete with directly Switch. Don't get me wrong. for us; the real competition is Steamdeck, but we don't represent the majority. This device will compete with S2, and I'm pretty confident S2 will wipe the floor with this xbox handheld. Even sold at a loss, as usual, it cannot compete with the "Mario Kart and Pokémon machine". This is why nintendo remains unmatched, unbeatable in that domain. As usual, xbox, lack of ideas and too late. They will loose to S2 (and eventually, to a new Sony handheld), and will share the market with Steamdeck, Lenovo, ASUS, GPD, AyaNeo, Acer. The only selling point xbox has is the xbox pass...and that's not really selling xbox consoles right now.
Considering dev costs, In my opinion, one of the dumbest, if not the dumbest decision xbox has made.

I can't see myself replacing my Steam Deck with this. There's only a couple of games that I can't get to run on it (ironically that's Microsoft's dead PC port of Gears of Wars Ultimate and the Xbox 360 emulator Xenia! 😂).

Everything else runs without issues well, so I'm not sure why I'd want to saddle myself with a handheld running Windows. Maybe if they've come up with a custom UI to make it work well without a mouse that could help.

@Friendly
Are you not in the USA?

So it sounds as if it's like the steam deck, the hackers will love it!

@Yosher If they price it competitively with the Steam Deck and it has a big enough jump in power over it I could see them doing moderately well with it for people who want to upgrade their Deck and haven’t got the option from Valve themselves yet. Game Pass games running natively would be a cool thing (I use Xcloud on my Deck which is fine but having them installed would be better) and if it’s easy enough to back into Steam or even dual boot into SteamOS then I could be tempted honestly if the price is right.

@Spider-Kev No, Europe.

@larryisaman A fair point, but even keeping that in mind I do wonder how big the market for this really will be. I certainly don't expect it to outsell the Steam Deck, at least not for a while, let alone other competing systems.

But hey, if they can prove me wrong, all the more power to them! I wish them the best of luck getting this thing off the ground!

I know that handheld PCs are a different market, but an Xbox-branded device that can't play all Xbox games sounds like a total mess. Microsoft should just wait until 2027 for the "real" Xbox handheld and skip the 2025 device that looks to be a ROG Ally with an Xbox sticker.

Imagine releasing a portable console, that will be expensive and not that great, on the same year that Nintendo will release the Switch 2. Microsoft just keeps shooting itself in the face.

@Serpenterror I see your point, and there's some truth to it. Often, follow-up systems tend to upgrade rather than revolutionize.

However, even in that regard, the Switch 2 seems more conservative than ever before. Looking at the "safe follow-up" list you compiled, consoles like the GameCube and Wii U actually introduced significant innovations compared to their predecessors. Even the leap from the monochrome GameBoy to color was a notable shift at the time, even though it might seem like a trivial step now. The rest of the iterative consoles on the list are mostly mid-generation redesigns.

That said, since we haven't seen all the details of the new console yet, it's still speculative. Perhaps there are some surprises waiting for us.

Doesn't make a whole lot of sense. They're already failing at directly competing with Sony, now they want to try and directly compete with Nintendo (and steam deck)? They should probably focus on trying to sell the hardware they have. They certainly aren't going to be able to compete with the switch 2, after it's been out for a year or two, and with a dedicated handheld. Only way that happens is if they don't bring their games to Nintendo and Sony, and also get considerably more exclusives. I don't see that happening.

The gaming market has only ever been able to handle 3 main console manufacturers, and usually with 1 of them losing quite badly. This sounds like Microsoft wants to continue their trend of being the latter

I have a Logitech G Cloud, it's genuinely very good. You can stream direct from your Xbox if you're on your home network or play XCloud anywhere. Would recommend, looking forward to Switch 2 will get it day one if I can

Nintendo Core IP games isn't about to leap over to Xbox portable. People make it sound like Nintendo is desperate and that couldn't farther from the truth. They are awash in cash flow and owe no-one debts but because it's Nintendo people always put them down for reasons unknown to the rest of us.