It’s official, Xbox wants to launch its portable console against the Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck

If the previous element of communication was not yet clear enough, this one will have the merit of clarity: yes Xbox wishes to market its own portable game console.

The Nintendo Switch in 2017, then Valve’s Steam Deck and finally Asus’ Rog Ally showed, there is a market for this new slightly bulky portable console format (compared to a Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance or even a PS Vita) with controllers on each side of the screen.

Several of these consoles run under Windows to offer compatibility with PC Game Pass, but the system is clearly not optimized for this type of machine.

Phil Spencer, the boss of Microsoft Gaming, intends to tackle it.

A long-term project

In an interview with BloombergPhil Spencer confides that Microsoft is indeed working on the development of such a portable console. However, despite Microsoft’s recurring communication on the subject, we should not expect a launch any time soon: “such a device will be released in several years.”

Longer term, I like that we’re building devices, and I think our team could do some really innovative work, but we first want to learn from what’s happening now.

Phil Spencer

In the meantime, Microsoft developers and engineers will propose optimizations for Windows and in particular for the official Xbox application so that it is better optimized for portable consoles.

During this interview, Phil Spencer also spoke of new studio acquisitions for Xbox and once again feels confident in the future of his activity.