Phil Spencer Reveals What Features He Wants to See in a Future Handheld

Microsoft's CEO of gaming Phil Spencer has now spoken about the possibilities of a handheld Xbox, detailing what he wants to see from such a device if it should ever happen. Rumors about the possible handheld Xbox are hot right now, and Spencer's comments may very well be him stoking the fires himself.

With Sony joining Nintendo and various other hardware manufacturers in the handheld gaming space, Microsoft may very well be the only game company left that still doesn't have a portable device. Fortunately for gamers who want to take their Xbox favorites anywhere and everywhere, unconfirmed rumors about Microsoft's own handheld have been growing stronger as of late, with many expecting a full-on announcement of its existence coming sooner or later. Right now, the closest thing to a handheld Xbox device is portable systems that can run PC games made by companies such as Valve, Lenovo, and ASUS.

In a recent interview with Polygon, Spencer said that he's tried handheld PC gaming devices such as the Lenovo Legion Go, and those have fallen short of a true Xbox experience. “I want to be able to boot into the Xbox app in a full screen, but in a compact mode," he shared. «I want it to feel like the dash of my Xbox when I turn on the television, [Except I want it] on those devices.” He then goes on to specifically list down Fallout 76, which doesn't port over his Xbox save onto the version he's playing on his Legion Go.

From there, Spencer then mentions two possible approaches to engineering a handheld Xbox. First is a true first-party handheld Xbox device made by Microsoft itself. He's been thinking about how a smaller Xbox would feel like in terms of its form factor, and while he hasn't mentioned any specifics, it's clear that he has some strong ideas about its ergonomics.

The second approach is based on software. Spencer acknowledges that gamers may not be necessarily dedicated to the Xbox as a console, but they still do want to play its games and have the same experience. He