Microsoft is integrating elements of Xbox software into Windows - the corporation has big plans for its own handheld console
In 2024, the head of Xbox Phil Spencer confirmed that Microsoft is indeed developing its own portable console, but its release is not a matter of the near future.
Over the past few years, the market for portable devices has grown significantly and interesting solutions have appeared. So, yesterday it became known that Valve will allow other manufacturers to install SteamOS on their gadgets, but the Redmond giant does not intend to use someone else's developments, and is preparing an unexpected solution.
Here's What We Know
At the CES 2025 exhibition within the panel "The Future of Portable Gaming" (Next Generation), Microsoft Vice President Jason Ronald made a rather unexpected and interesting statement.
In a conversation with journalists, he said that in order to ensure the most correct and feature-rich operation of the portable console Xbox, the corporation intends to combine the Windows operating system with the Xbox software, which is perfectly optimised for running video games.
I would say it's a combination of the best of Xbox and Windows because we've spent the last 20 years building a world-class operating system, but it's really tied to the console. So we're focused on how to bring those capabilities for both gamers and developers to the broader Windows ecosystem.
Notably, the integration of Xbox software into Windows will take place much earlier than the release of Microsoft's handheld console, indicating the company's plans to empower PC gamers who prefer Windows PCs.
Jason Ronald said that Microsoft doesn't want to migrate the Xbox system to Windows, but rather experts are working on making Windows the best gaming software.
Ultimately, our goal is to make Windows easy to play games on any device. The truth is that the Xbox operating system is built on top of Windows. So we've built a great infrastructure for consoles that we can bring to PC and really deliver a great gaming experience on every device.
Source: The Verge
