Phil Spencer appeared last night to give an Xbox business update, and fans didn’t feel satisfied with the vague podcast show. Many thought Microsoft could’ve just released a blog post rather than having announced a podcast and making fans wait a few days for it, only to end up with a vague look into the future of Xbox exclusives and the future of the console in general.
A day after the podcast, in an interview with The Verge, Spencer talks about his love for handhelds but clarifies that his love for the hardware doesn’t mean he has plans to bring the Xbox experience to handhelds.
Spencer Loves Handhelds; Nothing to Say About an Xbox Handheld
Spencer sat down for an interview with The Verge recently. Upon questioning his love for handhelds, given the fact that he’s liked a lot of posts on X about them, Spencer clarified that he is a fan of the hardware, but there’s nothing more to read into it.
I’m a big fan of handhelds. I’m a big fan, but nothing to announce.
Brian Crecente, Kotaku Founder, had recently posted on X about his article on Legion Go, and before that, Monty Hernandez, Program Manager at Xbox, had also posted on X stating that he’s enjoying playing Brotato with a picture of a Logitech G Cloud handheld console.
Spencer had also liked a post on X by Windows Central Gaming linked to an article on why an Xbox handheld is inevitable. These were some of the posts that Spencer had liked on X and led to Verge questioning Spencer about his love for the hardware.
Spencer does seem interested in what Nintendo has achieved with the Switch.
Spencer Reveals Learning from the Nintendo Switch Experience
Spencer mentioned that he has plans to give more access to gamers to allow them to play their favorite titles anywhere. He mentioned that the studio is learning from what “Nintendo has done over the years with Switch, they’ve been fantastic with that.” For similar reasons, Spencer mentioned being a fan of Steam Deck, ROG, and Legion GO.
Spencer concluded by revealing that there is work underway to improve controller input on smaller-inch screens. Whether or not all of this leads to an Xbox handheld in the future was not in the least hinted at by Spencer.
Late last year, PlayStation received an additional accessory, the PlayStation Portal, which was exclusively made for the PS5. It wasn’t a stand-alone handheld like the Switch but an additional remote player that streamed games from a PlayStation 5 console.
Even as four exclusives are headed to the PlayStation and Switch consoles soon, Spencer did stress that the overall strategy will remain unchanged. Spencer remained tight-lipped over a possible Xbox handheld in the future, but at the same time, he did not brush away the possibility either, and that will have fans hoping for a handheld by Microsoft.
Do you believe there will be an Xbox handheld in the future? Let us know in the comments.
