Microsoft Gaming CEO confirms Xbox handheld development and looming release

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has given some new details about an Xbox gaming handheld during an interview with Bloomberg.

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Xbox head Phil Spencer

According to the Xbox head, Microsoft is currently developing an Xbox gaming handheld device, with Spencer confirming internally the company is "working on prototypes". Spencer said Xbox and Microsoft, by extension, are also investigating the market sentiment regarding handheld devices in an attempt to find the right vision for hardware that could be on the horizon. Spencer was enthusiastic about Xbox building a handheld device, which is something Spencer has expressed love for in the past.

Bloomberg writes that any Xbox handheld device would still be a "few years out" and that much of the concentration of the Xbox engineers is taken up by making improvements to the Xbox app. Notably, Microsoft has been openly discussing its plans to create an Xbox handheld device for quite some time, but nothing seems to have come of it besides rumors and teasers. Keeping to hardware, Spencer finished off the interview by throwing a slight dig at Sony for its decision to launch the PlayStation 5 Pro at the $700 price point.

"I feel pretty good about where this industry is going," he said. "To reach new players, we need to be creative and adaptive of new business models, new devices, new ways of access. We're not going to grow the market with $1,000 consoles."

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