"It's possible that the existential threat from SteamOS, which on paper delivers better gaming performance than Windows 11 itself, has informed these decisions."

Yeah, the Lenovo Legion handhelds, the SteamOS version is substantially better in performance than the Windows version. And at a lower cost. With what Microsoft is trying to accomplish now when it comes to gaming hardware, Valve is their biggest competition now.

Still probably the right call.

That's disappointing but I think it's the right decision to prioritise improving the Gaming experience on Windows 11, SteamOS is a real threat to them right now and Windows is bloated and slow. They desperately need to improve the Windows Gaming for Handheld experience, especially for the benefit of their 3rd parties and an Xbox specific handheld (seems like according to Jez it would have been a Xbox handheld, not a Windows handheld) would just be a distraction right now while SteamOS eats their whole lunch.

And Steam's threat to Windows is far more important to Microsoft. Focus on improving Windows experience, finally moving Xbox consoles to Windows and then do their own Windows based handheld if they still want to. Though this means that Series S will no longer have a successor, as that was meant to be what the handheld was, so now we just will have the Series X successor which will probably be a powerful Xbox/PC hybrid. They don't want to release a Xbox handheld whilst having long term goals to move to Windows hybrid but then neglecting the Windows experience and releasing a half assed product or pissing off their partners with half assed Windows experiences.

Seems like we'll have plenty of "Windows" handhelds anyway and it has been paused, not cancelled. Tbh I wasn't looking forward to having to decide whether to buy an Xbox handheld or Xbox console at the same time or not anyway, I'll probably wait on handhelds for better performance and battery life, by the time I end up getting one the Windows experience better be great, Lol.

Windows team sucks ass though, they really need some sort of "Gaming" Windows which strips away all the bloated shit.

Microsoft still wants to build its own Xbox handheld in the future, but Microsoft has decided to prioritize its teams to improve Windows 11 gaming performance, specifically for devices like the ASUS partner device "Project Kennan." It's possible that the existential threat from SteamOS, which on paper delivers better gaming performance than Windows 11 itself, has informed these decisions. Our sources have indicated to us that Microsoft is still deeply investing in developing its own Xbox gaming handheld technology in the future, but it was announced internally today that the priorities are moving more deeply towards third-party OEM handhelds in the interim.

Project Kennan is the codename of Microsoft's partner Xbox handheld with ASUS. We understand that Kennan is targeting a launch for later this year. The hardware side is essentially finished, but there's a significant effort between the Xbox and Windows teams to improve the experience on the software side. Devices like the ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go already run on regular Windows 11, and the Xbox layers and apps have improved, but there's still a lot of improvements to be made.

It was always a bit unclear if Microsoft's handheld was designed to be a native Windows 11 PC gaming-style handheld, or more of a native Xbox console-style experience. But we potentially now have the answer.

It seems that it was indeed meant to be a device that could run full Xbox games, but Microsoft has decided to prioritize its teams on the partner opportunity around devices like Kennan — at least for now. I've been told that Microsoft still has big ambitions and is investing heavily to deliver a native Xbox handheld, but the shift is about prioritizing and allocating resources right now. There have been no layoffs or anything like that as a result of this reprioritization.

Microsoft is also working on next-gen Xbox cloud systems, which are now in testing at Microsoft's HQ in Redmond. The new cloud platform should bring its latency closer to parity with NVIDIA's GeForce Now service, which is arguably the performance leader right now (and still integrates Microsoft's Xbox / PC Game Pass). NVIDIA GeForce Now just launched a native app for the Steam Deck as well, presenting another competitor to Microsoft's cloud gaming strategy. Microsoft was previously working on a cloud-first mini console dubbed Hobart, which was also cancelled.

Tell Me Why is free to own on Steam and XBL:

Steam buff.ly/5scA5Qk
XBL buff.ly/CWp9p6s

Offer ends July 1

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— Wario64 (@wario64.bsky.social) 30 May 2025 at 17:03

Next Week on Xbox - Zenless Zone Zero, Splitgate 2, Tour de France 2025, Narcissus, Forest Golf Planner, and more coming soon! news.xbox.com/en-us/2025/0...

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— Xbox Wire (@wire.xbox.com) 30 May 2025 at 16:09

Another big wave of games has been added to the Stream Your Own Game library for Game Pass Ultimate ⬇️

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— TrueAchievements (@trueachievements.com) 30 May 2025 at 12:36

• Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy
• Anstream Arcade
• Hypnospace Outlaw
• Lego 2K Drive
• Marvel's Midnight Suns
• Moving Out 2
• PGA Tour 2K25
• Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Friends
• Sid Meier's Civilization VI
• Sid Meier's Civilization VII
• Sunderfolk
• XCOM 2

Bang on balls Chronicles was fun =p.

Xbox added an Xbox Games Showcase 2025 landing page to the Xbox Dashboard.

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— Klobrille (@klobrille.bsky.social) 30 May 2025 at 20:40

Towerborne "Back In One Piece" Live Orchestra Recording Session with Austin Wintory