Now this is interesting … an Xbox handheld launching this year! Who wants one?
Taken from Windows Central … Microsoft’s first full foray into PC gaming handhelds begins with a partner device set to launch later this year, with its own Xbox Series X|S successors now fully in production.
Here’s your first glimpse at Xbox’s next-gen hardware plans, and some parts are being executed more quickly than you might think.
The Xbox Series X|S generation has been a bit of an odd one. Microsoft’s Xbox console hardware sell-through has declined quarter over quarter for some time, but Xbox’s addressable monthly active user base has been skyrocketing — owing to the purchase of Activision-Blizzard. Armed with mobile games like Diablo Immortal, Candy Crush Saga, and Hearthstone, atop core games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch, Microsoft’s future in gaming is all but guaranteed. What has been a little less clear is Xbox’s plans for hardware.
Microsoft has been putting its exclusive console games like Forza Horizon 5 onto PlayStation to help grow the profitability of its business. In the near term, addressing users where they are is far more cost-effective than what Microsoft would need to spend to acquire new Xbox console users potentially.
However, the strategy has been questioned for the long term damage it might do to Xbox console hardware. Microsoft appears keen to continue servicing its legacy Xbox audience with new hardware regardless, and over the past few months, I’ve been working to figure out exactly what that might look like. Here’s what I’ve learned.
More over at Windows Central
