Xbox frequently states that it wants us to be able to play its games anywhere, and it appears that this will soon come to pass.
According to a recent claim from renowned leaker eXtas1, Microsoft is preparing to introduce new handheld Xbox hardware during its Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday, June 9. This event is expected to serve as a stand-in for what may have been a significant E3 display at this time in the past. Thus, it’s presumably there if there was ever a place to do it.
The Xbox may evolve beyond boxes like the Series X and S, and the most likely route for that is mobile. Phil Spencer mentioned using his Lenovo Legion Go on an airplane in March, which firmly suggests that this is something he wants to pursue. The team has been examining “different hardware form factors,” he added.
Of course, this makes perfect sense, considering the popularity of handheld devices like the Nintendo Switch, Xbox’s declared policy of where it wants its games played, and its streaming abilities.
But the shape this adopts might make or harm the idea as a whole. This year, PlayStation debuted the PS Portal, which is far from a real handheld like the Switch and has fairly limited tethered streaming capabilities. Would Microsoft choose to go down that path, or would they prefer hardware that supports their game natively? Simply said, I’m not sure what would make a difference in this situation that works similarly to the Portal. In concept, it could be able to do both, but I highly doubt Microsoft would design handheld Xbox hardware without making streaming one of, if not its main feature.
With Xbox game first releases on PC, mobile game streaming, and most recently, the addition of previously exclusive titles to PlayStation and Nintendo, Microsoft has been making an intentional attempt to spread the word about Xbox games. There aren’t many options left for them to use if we’re looking at how they might carry on, and a portable devices is definitely at the top of the list. We should find out more this weekend, but if things don’t work out now, there’s no reason to believe they won’t later on because there appears to be a gap in the market.
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