Microsoft's Xbox Handheld Is Coming. The Question Is When

Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, told Bloomberg on Tuesday that the company’s Xbox brand is still interested in getting into the handheld gaming market. The report said Microsoft is working on prototype devices now, so an official release is still a few years away.

“I love us building devices,” Spencer told the business publication. “I think our team could do some real innovative work, but we want to be informed by learning and what’s happening now.”

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Spencer also talked about the company’s plans for a mobile gaming store and bringing Xbox games to more gaming platforms, like the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. 

Sarah Bond, the president of Xbox, said in May that the company would open its own mobile game store in July. However, Spencer told Bloomberg the store was delayed as Microsoft does more market research. This hasn’t stopped Microsoft from releasing games on more devices, and bringing games to gamers where they are. 

With the Xbox Series X and S selling at roughly half the rate of the PS5, in February Microsoft announced it was bringing four Xbox exclusive games to the Nintendo Switch and Sony platforms. Spencer told Bloomberg that Microsoft is happy with the results and plans to bring more games to other platforms. 

“I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say ‘thou must not,'” he said.

This also comes after Microsoft announced in June it would bring its cloud gaming platform, Xcloud, to more devices. Now, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can access Xcloud on Fire TV devices, PCs, mobile devices and more. 

“To reach new players, we need to be creative and adaptive of new business models, new devices, new ways of access,” Spencer told Bloomberg. “I feel pretty good about where this industry is going.”

Microsoft did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.

For more on Xbox, here’s what you need to know about Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Standard and which plan is right for you.

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