Xbox is Prototyping a Native Xbox Handheld, it’s Claimed

Jez Corden of the Xbox Two podcast has claimed that Xbox is working on a new native Xbox handheld.

On the Xbox Two podcast, Corden said, “I know that they’ve [Xbox] have got handheld prototypes right now”. Corden soon clarified that these are “new prototypes” and not the old prototypes often referred to. As pointed out in the podcast, prototypes don’t necessarily mean that new products are coming to market, but Xbox pursuing a handheld isn’t at all surprising.

Corden later said, “no not a cloud handheld, a fully native Xbox handheld.”

The Nintendo Switch has sold well over 100 million copies since its initial launch and now with the likes of the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and even the PlayStation Portal coming to market in the last couple of years, Xbox making its move into the handheld market makes sense. In fact, some could even argue that companies tapping into the handheld market are one of the only avenues for hardware growth due to the stagnation in console sales.

It’s unclear on when Xbox would announce a new Xbox handheld, but various rumors have suggested that the console’s next generation of consoles could be a dockable handheld, similar to the Nintendo Switch. Earlier this year, Phil Spencer teased that Xbox’s next-generation console will be ‘unique and powerful’.

On the Official Xbox Podcast, newly-crowned Xbox President, Sarah Bond also broke down what’s next for Xbox “We’ve got more to come. There’s some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we’re going to share this holiday. We’re also invested in the next-generation roadmap. What we’re really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions that they’re building.”

What do you think on an Xbox handheld? Let us know in the comments.

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