Microsoft isn’t launching its Xbox handheld this year, but Asus might be

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer warned in November that the mythical Xbox handheld is a few years away and only at the prototype stage right now. But if you read the headlines this week, you might think it’s actually arriving later this year. A new report from Windows Central claims that “Xbox’s new hardware plans begin with a gaming handheld set for later this year, with full next-gen consoles targeting 2027” and that Microsoft is working on a “Project Keenan” handheld in partnership with an unnamed OEM. The report has generated plenty of headlines about an Xbox handheld arriving in 2025, but the reality is a little more complicated and related to Microsoft’s Xbox platform work to compete with SteamOS. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell me the company’s Xbox platform plans for this year and beyond are centered on one big goal: the unification of Windows ... Read full article.