Report: Xbox handheld due in 2025, next-gen console for 2027

Microsoft’s previously teased Xbox handheld may come out sometime this year.

According to Windows Central, the tech giant is working with a PC gaming manufacturer to create a branded device that will look “unmistakably Xbox.” This handheld, currently codenamed ‘Keenan,’ is expected to run the Windows OS and Steam, and will prioritize the Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass.

Recent third-party handhelds have featured Xbox features like Game Pass and cloud streaming. To date, Xbox hasn’t had a handheld to call its own like Sony does with the PlayStation Portable or Vita, and Nintendo with every other system it makes.

Xbox’s brave new handheld worldXbox has also indicated it would like nothing more than a stronger mobile presence, and one way to accomplish that is a handheld. Microsoft’s recent branding has been “anything is an Xbox,” which could naturally extend to a dedicated handheld.

The next Xbox console will follow Keenan, according to Windows Central sometime in 2027. Sources told the outlet the future hardware has been “fully greenlit,” and will be a “premium successor” to the Xbox Series X|S.

We’ve seen some previous indications of Xbox’s future hardware plans. Leaked Microsoft documents from 2023 mentioned a next-gen “cloud hybrid” system coming in 2028 that would be “optimized for real time gameplay and creators.”

“AI and ML (machine learning) enablement” were also mentioned in those documents, which align with Xbox’s recently unveiled generative AI model, Muse.

Windows Central’s full report on Xbox’s alleged future plans can be read here.

About the Author

Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com

A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don’t ask him about how much gum he’s had, because the answer will be more than he’s willing to admit.