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Mike Straw·
NewsRumorsXbox Series X
··1 min read

Microsoft Surface Team Is Developing The Next Xbox Device, It’s Claimed

Microsoft Surface next Xbox

The team that developed the Xbox Series X|S isn’t building the next Xbox device, a new report claims.

According to Nick Baker, aka Shpeshal_Nick, of the XboxEra Podcast, Jason Ronald won’t be in charge of developing the next Xbox device. Ronald, who led the development of the Xbox Series X|S, and his team are being replaced by the Microsoft Surface team.

“I’ve heard the surface team as well,” he said. “That’s why I freaked out when I heard Mag mention Jason Ronald not leading the next Xbox because I heard the exact same thing.”

Whether that next device is a full console or a handheld device remains to be seen. That said, with the Surface team leading the way, it could suggest that the next major release from Microsoft on the Xbox side dives into handheld gaming market.

Reliable sources have suggested to Insider Gaming that the Surface team has been involved in Xbox design since the Xbox One S was in development.

Microsoft is set to announce its immediate plans for the future of Xbox this week after rumors started to circulate of first-party Xbox games releasing on other platforms.

Insider Gaming has reached out to Xbox and Microsoft on these claims. While a response isn’t expected, it will be added to this story should it be received.

What do you think about the Microsoft Surface team handling the development of the next Xbox console? For more Insider Gaming, check out our exclusive interview with iRacing president Anthony Gardner.

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Mike Straw
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of gaming, Mike was a beat reporter for various outlets covering the NHL for years before moving to game journalism full time. When he's not writing, you can find Mike playing various turn-based strategy games and roguelikes.

One Comment

  1. This is interesting. IMO mostly because XboxEra, and apparently other people too, believe this indicates the next XBox is likely to be a handheld. I don’t see how the Surface team leading the design/development of new hardware necessarily indicates that. At least not without a second assumption, that Microsoft’s going to try to compete with the Switch and the alleged development of a Playstation portable. Trying to compete with Switch would be a fool’s errand. Even if they just are aiming to compete with whatever handheld Sony releases, it still comes down to the games and/or cost. If gamers believe the system won’t have many exclusives that won’t eventually appear elsewhere, IMO Microsoft’s next device needs to be cheaper than Sony’s.

    Having written all that, Microsoft has been laying off people and cutting costs on a fairly regular basis. Might the simpler explanation for the Surface team taking over be that Microsoft’s consolidating hardware development into one team? Also, what do we know about the development of that streaming stick they decided not to produce? Did Ronald’s team lead the design/development or was that another team within XBox?

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