Phil Spencer may not have been talking about what he would see in a possible portable Xbox for nothing, as there have been recent rumors that they would create a handheld platform similar to the Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck…

In an interview with Polygon, the Xbox boss talked about how he would like to improve the Xbox gaming experience on handheld devices like the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, or Lenovo Legion Go: “We’re looking at different hardware form factors and things that [they, the Xbox hardware team] could do. What should we build that will find new players? That will allow people to play at times when they couldn’t play [in the past]? I like the fact that Valve, Lenovo, and Asus have gone out and innovated in a new form factor, and I will say that when I play on those devices, it feels almost more like a console than a PC – nine times out of 10.

The things that usually frustrate me are more Windows-based than device-based. That is an area where I feel some ownership. For example, I want to be able to log in with a controller. I have my list of things we should do. Forget the brand. More like: Are all my games there? Are all my games showing up with the save [files] I want? I want to be able to boot into the Xbox app full screen, but in a compact mode. And all my social [experiences] are there. Like I want it to feel like the dashboard of my Xbox when I turn on the TV. [Except I want it on these devices,” Spencer said.

So Spencer wants other handheld platforms to feel like Xbox, and maybe he said that for a reason. In February, we heard that new hardware could be announced this year, and rumors of a Switch-clone Xbox have been swirling. Perhaps the timing of the Polygon interview is no coincidence.

Microsoft has yet to officially announce a handheld Xbox.

Source: VGC, Polygon