It appears like Xbox needs a chunk of the Nintendo Change pie, as a brand new report claims that it is engaged on a “totally native” handheld

The place PlayStation opted for the cloud-based handheld route, a brand new report is claiming the Xbox is prototyping a local handheld.

Final 12 months, in a transparent try and faucet into a few of what Nintendo is providing with the Change, Sony launched the PlayStation Portal, a bizarre little cloud-based handheld for everybody and nobody. Whereas loads have their hang-ups over the hand-held’s inconsistent stability resulting from its reliance on a superb web connection, it has completed fairly properly general, so clearly it is a system individuals really feel they want a use for. Now, it is sounding like Microsoft needs a chunk of the identical pie, although it appears it will likely be nearer to the Change than it will likely be to the PS Portal.

Talking on the Xbox Two podcast, Jez Corden mentioned that he is aware of that “[Xbox] have gotten handheld prototypes proper now.” He clarified that they’re “new prototypes” and never previous ones that have been supposedly beforehand within the works, and he additionally made certain to level out that it is “not a cloud handheld” it is “a totally native Xbox handheld.” This was identified on the podcast too, but it surely ought to be famous that simply because Xbox is engaged on a handheld prototype, whether it is, that does not imply it is going to ever really launch. Initiatives like these are cancelled on a regular basis, so do not go writing any feedback complaining it by no means got here out when it was by no means assured within the first place.

A handheld Xbox console would not be all that stunning, given Microsoft’s common intentions to make its video games playable in as many locations as attainable. Video games like Pentiment, Grounded, Hello-Fi Rush, and Sea of Thieves have all made their means or will make their option to rival platforms, a brand new push from Xbox to actually put its video games in all places. And with issues just like the Steam Deck additionally discovering a whole lot of success, a handheld possibility for Xbox would doubtless work fairly properly too, particularly when paired with Sport Cross. Now we simply have to attend and see if the factor is actual.