HANDHELD NEWS – Rumor has it that Microsoft has halted development of its in-house Xbox handheld, so the Asus ROG Xbox Ally may not be the Redmond-based company’s only foray into the handheld gaming market.

A few weeks ago, Windows Central reported that Microsoft was pausing work on the Xbox handheld. However, this hasn’t affected the company’s partnership with Asus to produce the ROG X Ally and ROG X Ally X. These devices were announced at the Xbox Games Showcase and are scheduled for release by the end of the year, in time for the Christmas shopping season.

Microsoft had originally planned to use this partnership as a stopgap solution while developing its own Xbox handheld, which was supposed to be released alongside the next-generation Xbox desktop console. However, according to Tom Warren, editor of The Verge, Microsoft has essentially given up on the whole thing. In his latest paid newsletter, Notepad, he writes that Microsoft will focus on the software platform instead. He points out that, although there will be “official” next-generation hardware from Microsoft, OEM partners (such as Asus) may release their own version of a next-generation Xbox console.

Warren believes that Asus handhelds are a kind of market test for Microsoft regarding the ever-closer integration of Windows and Xbox, not to mention the ambitious goal of making every screen an Xbox. He added that the emulation project created by Sarah Bond in early 2024 could solve the problem at some point. In the meantime, Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming will spread the brand across devices.

In 2024, Microsoft made big promises for the next-generation console, claiming that the successor to the Xbox Series X would deliver the biggest technical leap ever seen from one generation to the next. This may be achieved through machine learning algorithms if it can be done…

Source: WCCFTech, The Verge