Phil Spencer thinks Xbox should have a handheld console

Microsoft could actually be working on an Xbox handheld console, as Xbox boss Phil Spencer drops the biggest hint yet.

This comes from a recent interview with IGN during Summer Game Fest 2024, where Phil Spencer was asked to comment on rumors of an Xbox handheld amid the company's ongoing business strategy to follow users where they are playing, like PC and console.

Although Spencer didn't outright confirm a device is in the works, he said: "So we should have a handheld? I think we should have a handheld too."

Spencer didn't want to expand on this statement, but said that we'd have to hear more from Xbox President Sarah Bond.

 "I don’t want to say anything," Spencer said. "I think you’ll have to have Sarah [Bond] on, our president of Xbox, which is awesome. But the future for us in hardware is pretty awesome, and the work that the team is doing around different form factors, different ways to play, I’m incredibly excited about.

"Today was about the games," he added. “We showed some of our Gen 9 consoles, Series S and Series X, the work that we’re doing, but we will have a time to come out and talk more about platform, and we can’t wait to bring it to you guys.”

To end, Spencer was asked if a potential Xbox handheld would be a Steam Deck-like piece of hardware where users could play offline or if it would be a cloud-based device.

"What I’m finding, I like my ROG Ally, my Lenovo Legion Go, fantastic, my Steam Deck," he said. "I think being able to play games locally is really important."

During the Xbox Games Showcase 2024, Microsoft officially unveiled the new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S models that were leaked earlier this year.

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