Handhelds have a long and illustrious history in the gaming world. Although there have technically been several consoles, Nintendo's Game Boy broke new ground for portable gaming, offering near-NES-level experiences on the go. Nintendo continued to prove itself in the handheld space with subsequent Game Boy iterations, and the company set a new bar for the entire industry with the release of the Nintendo DS in 2006. But while the PlayStation tried its hand at competing with Nintendo in the space portable, Xbox it remained clear. But that's about to change.
After over a year of speculation and rumors, Phil Spencer confirmed in a recent interview with Bloomberg that Xbox is indeed in the process of developing a portable device. Granted, Spencer also claimed that it will be a few more years before fans see it on the market. But when the Xbox handheld finally arrives, there's one obvious feature that's sure to set it apart from the competition.
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The Xbox handheld will have an ace up its sleeve
The Xbox handheld could have some stiff competition
The laptop market is undoubtedly more crowded than it has ever been. The Nintendo Switch is now in its seventh year and, along with its Lite and OLED models, has sold more than 140 million units. Although its hardware is objectively inferior to even the latest generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles, the Switch's portable nature, high level of brand recognition and family-friendly bent have kept it at the top of the gaming world for the better part of a decade . .
In 2022, Valve thought they would try their hand at creating a portable console. In the two years since its release, the Steam Deck has been widely praised as one of the best handhelds ever made, capable of playing some of the most demanding modern games with very few restrictions.
The handheld market might look a little different by the time the Xbox hits store shelves, but it might not be by much. The successor to the Nintendo Switch is due to be revealed next year, and Valve has already confirmed that a second generation Steam Deck is in development. So the competition for the Xbox handheld might not be all that different than if it were released now.
Additionally, a recent Bloomberg report suggests that PlayStation is also in the early stages of developing a new handheld console. If true, then the Xbox handheld will have some stiff competition when it finally launches.
Xbox Game Pass could be the Xbox handheld's secret weapon
Last year, Xbox tried to market the concept that Xbox isn't just a console, it's everything that can run the Xbox app. Xbox Game Pass has been at the forefront of this recent marketing push, with ads often showing gamers enjoying their subscription across Xbox, PC, mobile and a variety of other devices via Cloud streaming.
When the Xbox handheld is officially revealed, Xbox Game Pass is highly likely to be a major selling point for it, and for good reason. Putting Xbox Game Pass front and center on the upcoming handheld would be a huge boon in both the short and long term.
In the short term, Xbox handheld gamers will be able to access a vast library of hundreds of games, all at no additional cost. And with the Xbox Game Pass library running the gamut of gaming experiences, gamers will be able to test the power of the handheld right away, with countless AAA and indie games ready and waiting on day one.
In the long run, Xbox Game Pass would ensure that handheld gamers have an ever-changing library of games to keep coming back to. Additionally, while PlayStation's handheld could bring its library of PS Plus titles, Game Pass would still have the upper hand because PS Plus doesn't add first-party games to the service on day one. And that advantage will become more pronounced over time, as Xbox's primary offerings now include Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda, and Activision-Blizzard.
