Xbox First-Party Handheld Plans ‘Essentially Cancelled’, Claims Report

Back in late May, it was reported by Windows Central’s Jez Corden that plans for a 2027 first-party Xbox handheld had been “sidelined” at Microsoft, although the company was still interested in developing something in the future.

The Verge is now taking this a step further today, with editor Tom Warren stating that based on what he’s heard, the first-party Xbox handheld has been “essentially cancelled”. Here’s an excerpt from his report:

“I’ve heard from insiders that it’s essentially canceled as the company focuses on Xbox’s new software platform.”

“I still think we’ll see next-gen Xbox hardware from Microsoft, but I also strongly believe we’ll see multiple devices from PC makers like Asus that will also be considered next-gen Xbox consoles.”

Corden has suggested he’s sticking by his “sidelined” mention in the report from late May, as he’s “not willing to say it’s fully cancelled yet” due to what he’s heard about Microsoft being interested in making a handheld in the future.

However, he also admits that very few “on hold” products have ever truly made a resurgence:

Beyond this, there’s a belief from Tom Warren that the next Xbox console “is going to operate a lot like the ROG Xbox Ally, so you’ll be able to get access to Steam games” – referencing the new ASUS ROG Xbox Ally handheld that was announced last week.

Corden doesn’t quite share the same view though, stating that “the next Xbox will play your Xbox console games, so in my view, the Xbox Ally is not really a blueprint of what to expect”.

It’s probably still too early to nail down the next Xbox console stuff, but when it comes to the first-party handheld, it certainly sounds like Microsoft has given up on the device as things stand. The ROG Xbox Ally is taking precedence for now, along with other existing devices, and it makes sense for Microsoft to focus on those for the time being.

Would we like to see a first-party Xbox handheld in the future? Of course! The ROG Xbox Ally still looks extremely exciting though, and if Team Xbox can find a way to put native console games on that device in the months and years ahead, we may not even need a first-party Xbox handheld when all’s said and done.