As Microsoft continues to shape its vision for the future of the Xbox brand, it still plans to develop a first-party handheld device, even if “everything is an Xbox.”
In 2025, ASUS launched the ROG Xbox Ally series of handheld gaming devices. The two new devices were more powerful versions of the previously launched ROG Ally systems, designed to make it easier to access PC game launchers, including Xbox Game Pass.
Still, a new report from Jez Corden notes that plans remain in place for a first-party Xbox handheld, even if the next mainline Xbox console is the primary focus for now.
The next-generation Xbox platform is touted as Microsoft’s boldest effort in the gaming space to date, even after a game-changing quarter-century. As such, they’re not committing to a firm launch date for the next home console yet.
Major Changes Coming Soon to the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally
The report from Corden notes that Microsoft is testing a new NPU-driven highlights feature for the Xbox Ally X that automatically transforms gameplay clips into shareable videos. This feature is slated for a March 2026 release.
The next Xbox console is also set to take notes from the Ally X handheld by bringing multiple launchers, such as the Epic Games launcher and Steam, to the platform. Regardless of the hardware, the overall message remains the same: make Xbox accessible anywhere and everywhere.
Learn more about how the collaboration between the Windows and Xbox teams at Microsoft factors heavily into the next console at this link. Also, learn more about PlayStation hardware’s future plans here.
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}back and forth with this. There is no point they should be software only this is wasting money just buy Take2 make Game Pass multiplat maybe now Sony and Nintendo say yes and there you go even better get it on TV’s and Mac’s as a app.
It’ll still be a PC..it’ll just be manufactured by Xbox like the Xbox console is.
Dead in the water if it is a closed ecosystem. PC based handhelds exist and can share the Steam libraries, no point in getting an exclusive handheld console anymore. It is not like Microsoft is going to make exclusive games just for this handheld, so there is no point. If it has access to Steam on it, then what’s the differnce with the Steam Deck or the RoG Ally? branding?