Rumor: New In-House XBOX Handheld Will Launch in 2027

Not a ROG, not a third-party device, and it's "next-gen."

XBOX is no stranger to handheld gaming at this point. Between Valve's Steamdeck and ASUS's XBOX-branded ROG Ally devices, there are a number of ways to experience XBOX gaming on the go. A recent report from Forbes, however, alleges that the company isn't quite done with its portable gaming ambitions, as XBOX is set to release its own first-party handheld gaming device in the winter of 2027.

In an interesting twist, it seems that Asha Sharma's crew at XBOX isn't seeing eye-to-eye with the management at Microsoft. Microsoft is, naturally, trying to do things in the cheapest way possible by forcing the XBOX team to use some customized version of Windows to powert the device. Naturally, Sharma wants to develop something more custom for the handheld which will be able to more competently run XBOX software. Thankfully, at least according to the report, Sharma is winning out and the XBOX crew is leading the charge on development of the device.

XBOX working on a first-party handheld isn't technically new news; it's been talked about since at least March of last year when Windows Central and The Verge were talking about XBOX's handheld plans. If XBOX makes any sort of official announcement, we'll be sure to share it with all of you.

Source: Fortune