Microsoft may still be making their own Xbox handheld. But it’s not coming anytime soon.
Last June 2025, Tom Warren of the Verge reported that Microsoft cancelled making their own handheld. Later that month, they announced the ROG Xbox Ally.
Today, Jez Corden released a new report explaining how Xbox’s long-rumored hybrid PC/console platform works. But he also shared this:
Despite rumors to the contrary, I’m told Microsoft also still wants to make a first-party Xbox handheld eventually, too, even if the traditional next-gen Xbox console is the focus for now.
If this is true, then Microsoft may have allowed OEMs like ROG to make their Xbox handhelds to beta test their systems for them.
In that way, that future single player Xbox handheld will launch without the hurdles OEMs like ROG had to go through. But Microsoft could also potentially be shopping for one of those OEMs to make the official first-party Xbox handheld.
All of this hinges on Microsoft’s future hardware plans with Magnus being successful, so we’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out.