Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Microsoft XBox (Games)

Microsoft To Launch Xbox Handheld in 2025, Next-Gen Consoles in 2027 (windowscentral.com) 27

Posted by msmash from the up-next dept.
Microsoft plans to launch an Xbox-branded gaming handheld later in 2025 through partnership with a PC gaming manufacturer, followed by next-generation Xbox consoles targeting 2027, according to WindowsCentral. The handheld device, codenamed "Keenan," will run full Windows with Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass integration, featuring distinct Xbox design elements including an official guide button.

Microsoft is expected to use the device to test new Windows 11 "device aware" capabilities while reducing typical OEM bloatware. The next-generation Xbox console plans include a premium successor to Xbox Series X alongside Microsoft's own gaming handheld and new controller options with direct-to-cloud connectivity, the report said. These consoles will reportedly operate closer to Windows architecture, reducing developer porting workloads while maintaining backwards compatibility with legacy Xbox games.

Microsoft To Launch Xbox Handheld in 2025, Next-Gen Consoles in 2027 More | Reply

Microsoft To Launch Xbox Handheld in 2025, Next-Gen Consoles in 2027

Comments Filter:

  • Doesn't the Steamdeck do the whole PC in a handheld thing pretty well? Why would we want the added bloat of a full load of Windows 11 in a handheld gaming device? Is Microsoft scared that they're losing some tracking potential to the Steamdeck market? Why do I keep asking questions? What has become of me?

    • Some games, especially competitive online games that have anti-cheat measures don't appreciate Proton just yet so there are edge cases where people still want Windows. While it's doable to install Windows onto the Steamdeck it's not like, supported-supported.

      That said Microsoft is not new with trying to take the Steam Deck crown. Lenovo, ASUS, MSI and Logitech have all tried and seemingly failed to approach the top spot even with pretty impressive hardware.

    • This is very 'Generals are always planning to fight the last war' vibes.

      I hope for the sake of people who buy it that it doesn't suck, but I think its probably going to suck.

    • Doesn't the Steamdeck do the whole PC in a handheld thing pretty well? Why would we want the added bloat of a full load of Windows 11 in a handheld gaming device? Is Microsoft scared that they're losing some tracking potential to the Steamdeck market? Why do I keep asking questions? What has become of me?

      You're pre-hating something you know nothing about. I like the "idea" of a portable and fully supported XBox, but the devil is in the details. If it can give me the FULL XBox experience from a hotel or even just in my own house (local streaming) while my daughter is using the TV, I'm willing to pay quite a bit. If you're giving me an XBox 360 in my hands?...well, I already own the Nintendo Switch. However, the point is we need to see what they offer to judge. Worst case scenario?...a very wealthy compa

      • Doesn't the Steamdeck do the whole PC in a handheld thing pretty well? Why would we want the added bloat of a full load of Windows 11 in a handheld gaming device? Is Microsoft scared that they're losing some tracking potential to the Steamdeck market? Why do I keep asking questions? What has become of me?

        You're pre-hating something you know nothing about. I like the "idea" of a portable and fully supported XBox, but the devil is in the details. If it can give me the FULL XBox experience from a hotel or even just in my own house (local streaming) while my daughter is using the TV, I'm willing to pay quite a bit. If you're giving me an XBox 360 in my hands?...well, I already own the Nintendo Switch. However, the point is we need to see what they offer to judge. Worst case scenario?...a very wealthy company loses some money and you're proven right..but also, they may produce something much better than the steamdeck...or something compelling and almost as good, which motivates Valve and others to up their game. Since when is having competition bad? If you don't like it, you don't need to buy it, but I am not ride or die for steamdeck. If you are, maybe this will motivate them to try a little harder or bring more attention to their market...not a lot of mainstream folks know about the steakdeck....and while that make you feel like a cool hipster, I am sure....it's definitely not a good thing. The market would benefit from more press coverage and more money flowing in.

        It's Microsoft. Traditionally, Microsoft trying to step into an existing market tends to fall flat on their face. And based on what we're seeing in the marketing blurb, I see very little compelling. You can call that pre-hating if you want, but it's not like this is an isolated incident from a company without a proven track record of failure.

  • learning the wrong lessons, too late, since they entered the game console market. They’d make more stopping hemorrhaging money on Xbox hardware, creating an optimized streaming app in steam for Xbox subscribers.
  • We all know "premium" means "extra expensive, incurring periodic payments, and you-own-nothing[TM] licensed, to be shut off whenever M$ wants". MicroSoft has clearly abandoned the console market when they declared unconditional surrender towards Sony, and even games from Microsoft owned studios are now playable at their best only on Sony hardware. An "always online" terminal server is just Google Stadia reloaded, and that rumored "premium" console will just be a PC that is even less upgradeable or flexible

  • ... a 10" display, detachable controller(s), sturdiness and battery life (8 hours is my hallmark) over thinness, docking-station/HDMI compliant USB-C connectivity, 1TB of storage and at least the performance of the XBox One X, preferably the XBox Series S with a little extra on top. I also want full compatibility with all my XBox peripherals, including controllers, headphones, etc.

    1080p resolution is enough for me, but I want it to run snappy.

    Let's see what you can do, M$, and I might just give you my money

    • The performance needs to be at LEAST the Series S.

      For me, it's all about the super-fast storage. Once I moved from One X to even the Series S, the fast storage is what made me really appreciate the upgrade.

  • Putting the Windows 11 shitty code into a portable? And compatible with Xbox which basically uses x86 desktop processors? And running that shitty html code trying to pretend to be desktop applications?
  • how about fixing Microsoft bloatware on Windows 11 first?

  • A Microsoft handheld that can abandoned in two years tops. I'm sure it will flop because that is Microsoft's MO. They are unwilling to push hard enough and long enough to get into a market so every single thing they do fails.

    They had good hardware at one time, keyboards, mice, trackballs, etc., but I wouldn't buy any hardware from them now. Their tablet is a glorified update machine that is rebooting to do updates every single time I pick it up to the point I took the loss and just quit using it. It's been

    • A Microsoft handheld that can abandoned in two years tops. I'm sure it will flop because that is Microsoft's MO. They are unwilling to push hard enough and long enough to get into a market so every single thing they do fails.

      Like the XBox?...the literal subject of this article? Also, the Surface is quite nice and everyone I know who bought one loves it and shows it off as much as possible. I wanted one, but suffered through the iPad, mostly for cost and ecosystem reasons.

      However, the XBox is now 24 years old. You can't complain saying they'll abandon something when they entered a market over 2 decades ago and still invest heavily. Microsoft is a huge company...you know the folks in one dept have very little to do with e

  • I'd love to hear their solution for the battery life problem that will exist running the latest XBox software at acceptable performance.

    Probably weighs about 10 lbs.

  • Nintendo's secret to getting away with battery-powered handhelds is simple. Their games do not rely on ultra-shiny photorealistic graphics in order to be FUN. While Microsoft and Sony duked it out over who's got the bigger GPU in the early 2000s, Ninty got busy focusing on gameplay elements that were genuinely novel and entertaining, a strategy that absolutely shines if you're trying to build a handheld constrained by size, power, and (importantly), thermals. Yes, Steam Deck is existential proof that portab

    • Yes, Steam Deck is existential proof that portable PC gaming is possible, but the architecture (both of the system and of the processor) is a compromise on power across the board. Yes, they did a really good job given the constraints they were under, but even well-known and reasonably-optimized titles are limited to 3-4 hours of play time, running at 720p. It's not nothing, but compare that to a Switch.

      The Switch that's a 720p handheld and hopefully gets 3-3.5 hours on complex games? I'd say it compares jus

      • Also, expectations have changed.

        Nobody expects a mobile device to run for a full month on four AA batteries these days. Plugging things in is routine, and the world is now full of charging infrastructure.

        Even going back to the PSP, if the device could run for your full commute to work and back, it hit it's design goal.

        • Are you forgetting the GameGear which was direct competition for the GameBoy? It used 6 AAs and was lucky to hit 5-6 hour run times. And the Lynx wasn't any better.

          The GameBoy and GameBoy Advanced having 10-15 hour run times were the outliers.

          Now the devices are all rechargeable with a standard USB C plug. You can bring along a power brick, or maybe whatever long haul service you are using provides phone/tablet charging plugs.

          The days of begging your parents to buy another pack of AAs to keep you quiet on t

      • This is fair. My expectation is the S2 will be a noticeable improvement, but we'll see. What helps the Switch is that the games are designed to be fun without the need to lean into ultra-heavy GPU performance, whereas PC games tend to rely on the WOW! factor of raytraced 8k 240FPS graphics more heavily (though granted, not entirely). So, I guess we'll wait and see.

        Don't get me wrong, I think a low-poly cel-shaded master chief would look hilarious, but MS will definitely have to "manage expectations" of th

Slashdot Top Deals

"Sometimes insanity is the only alternative" -- button at a Science Fiction convention.

Close