Xbox CEO Phil Spencer can’t stop thinking about handheld consoles and how he can make Xbox more available to that market. Could this mean that a new Xbox handheld console is on the horizon? Read on to learn about Spencer’s thoughts on the matter.
Phil Spencer Wants PC Gaming Handhelds to be More "Xbox"
"What should we build that will find new players?"
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer can’t stop thinking about adapting Xbox for the handheld market; at least that’s what he told Polygon in an exclusive interview during GDC 2024 (Game Developers Conference).
"I want my Lenovo Legion Go to feel like an Xbox," Spencer said. "I brought [the Legion Go] with me to GDC. I’m on the airplane and I have this list of everything that makes it not feel like an Xbox. Forget about the brand. More like: Are all of my games there? Do all my games show up with the save [files] that I want? I’ll tell you one game that doesn’t right now — it’s driving me crazy — is Fallout 76. It doesn’t have cross-save."
"I want to be able to boot into the Xbox app in a full screen, but in a compact mode," he continued. "And all of my social experience is there. Like I want it to feel like the dash of my Xbox when I turn on the television. [Except] I want it on those devices."
Spencer then spoke of the Xbox hardware team—led by the company’s corporate vice president Roanne Sones—and its consideration of "different hardware form factors and things that [they] could go do" as it plans the future of all Xbox hardware. "What should we build that will find new players?" Spencer said. "That will allow people to play at times when they couldn’t go play in the past?"
The Merits of a Hardware and Software Approach
Spencer spoke at length about two possible approaches the company could take in expanding Xbox’s availability to handhelds: the hardware approach and the software approach. Evidently, Spencer already has a good understanding and solid idea of what an Xbox handheld device should be like, although he is aware that Xbox would be a bit late to the scene and that many players would likely choose other brands. For those players in particular, Spencer wants to adopt a software approach.
The software approach involves improving the Xbox handheld gaming software experience for people who have devices running Windows, like the Legion Go and the Ally. "I like the fact that Valve, Lenovo, and Asus went out and innovated in a new form factor. And I will say that when I’m playing on those devices, it almost feels more like a console than a PC — nine times out of 10. The things that usually frustrate me are more Windows-based than device-based. Which is an area I feel some ownership of. Like, I want to be able to log in with a controller. I’ve got my list of things we should go do."
Spencer’s Final Thoughts on Making an Xbox Handheld
Spencer wrapped the interview with Polygon without confirming the possibility of an upcoming Xbox handheld console but he did say he sees a similar level of creativity coming to hardware that Xbox has brought to software.
"I think it’s important," said Spencer. "You and I, we’ve been around for a couple of days. Look at the real inflection points in our industry, like look at the Wii. It was hardware innovation that was linked with great software innovation."
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A handheld Xbox? Microsoft’s gaming chief can’t stop thinking about it
