Xbox's rumored handheld console is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:reportedly on hold, as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Microsoft focuses on making improvements to Windows 11 and supporting Project Kennan, a similar device on which it has partnered with ASUS. That doesn't mean that the Xbox handheld has been cancelled, but it 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:likely won't launch in 20♒25 as originally rumored.
If it's true that the handheld has been pushed back, it looks like Xbox could have two console launch years in a row, with the handheld arriving in 2026 and its 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:next-gen home console coming in 2027. That♋ kinda seems like too much, too quick, but I have an easy solution: cancel the home conso💦le altogether.
Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga Won't Be The Last Xbox Game To Play Better On PS5
Ninja Theory has confirmed w💃hat we all expe💎cted: Hellblade 2 is coming to PS5.
Xbox's Trajectory Is Leading Out Of The Console Game
At this point, it almost seems strange that Xbox is still planning to launch a next-gen console. It has been roundly defeated by 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation in the PS5-era and the PS4-era, and the Switch's generation-straddling life cycle means it handily beat Xbox twice with a single console. Xbox seems to know that it can't compete like it used to, but has been on a weird arc for the last few years as it tries to forge a new path. It went from having no games in the Xbox One and early 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Series X|S years,ꦺ to having a whole lot of games, but not keepin🍬g any of them for itself.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Doom: The Dark Ages was arguably the biggest Xbox release of the year so far, but it’s also on PS5. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Oblivion Remastered, Doom's main competition for the crown, is also on PS5. Xbox brought two games that were previously big exclusives, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Forza Horizon 5, to PS5 this year, too. The biggest games that are actually Xbox exclusives in 2025? 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:South of Midnight, a decidedly double-A outing, and Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed, a genuinely big triple-A release. But, given that Obsidian's last two games, Grounded and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pentiment, recently went multiplatform and its next game, The Outeꦑr Worlds 2, will be multiplatform from th💖e start, it strai♚ns credulity to think ꦏthat Avowed won't move to PS5 sooner rather than later.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, previously a big Xbox exclusive, is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:also getting a PS5 release soon.
All of that makes me, and many other cons💛umers, indifferent to the Xbox Series X|S. Why do I need to buy an Xbox console if I'll be able to play all the games it offers on my PS5 without too much of a wait? Indiana Jones pushed me to consider buying a Series X, but I waited a few months, and ended up completely fine without needing to buy anot꧑her console. It feels like Xbox is giving PS5 players everything they could want.
The Handheld Market Could Be Friendlier To Xbox
A handheld is a different proposition entirely, especially because there isn't currently one on the market that specifically targets console players while offering the ability to natively play new triple-A games. Sony's answer, the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PlayStation Portal, requires a PS5 and a stable Wi-Fi conneไction. It's an accessory for existing PS5 owners, not a serious alternative.
Not to mention that Xbox's Cloud Gaming tech could provide its handheld with the same functionality in addition to running g🌸ames natively.
The Switch 2, meanwhile, is a significantly beefed-up handheld, but will only have select third-party triple-A games. Borderlands 4, Th🐈e Duskbloods, Cyberpunk 2077, and Split Fiction are a great start, but the console being weaker than other current-gen offerings means that ports will be a case-by-case basis. Given Xbox📖's all-in-one approach to its ec🐻osystem, though, handheld owners would likely be able to play the entire Xbox library from day one.
The best handheld machines, like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally, are aimed at PC players, and that's a different audience. The Asus ROG Ally is a great handheld, but it doesn't have the same name recognition with console players that Xbox does. The Steam Deck, like the PlayStation Portal, is most valuable if you're alread🔥y in the ecosystem, and want toplay all the PC games you already own. But the Xbox handheld would have the benefit of its Game Pass subscription service, allowing new players to immediately gain access to a hu🏅ge library of new and old games.
If Xbox can keep the price fairly l🥂ow, it has a real shot at carving out a path for itself in the handheld space. It still might not be competitive, but a next-ไgen Xbox home console absolutely won't have a shot against PlayStation and Nintendo. It's too late, it's lost too much ground. Xbox should pivot hard to handheld while it has the chance.
🌄 Consoles Can Only Hike Prices So Much Before They Lose Their Audience
The𓆉re are a whole lo🌠t of cheaper entertainment options out there.
