The potential Xbox portable reveal window has been narrowed down by Insider.

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Key Takeaways

  • The Xbox portable device could be announced in 2025.
  • Some recent reports have suggested that the next-generation Xbox console will include a handheld device, but 2025 seems too early for such a product to be announced or teased.
  • The next-generation console is expected to launch in 2028.



not xbox A prominent leaker has said that the portable gaming console could likely be announced in 2025. This claim suggests that the rumored device may not be part of the next-generation Xbox console, but rather an expansion of the current device.

Stories about Microsoft potentially entering the portable gaming market have been circulating online for most of 2024. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer even personally fueled the Xbox portable rumors back in February by liking some tweets calling for the company to make such a device.

Xbox Series X next to a larger console silhouette with a white question mark on a dark green background

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According to industry insider Jez Corden, something like this may actually be announced in the near future. Speech from the November 4 episode Xbox Two PodcastResponding to a viewer question about the status of the new gaming hardware, which Xbox President Sarah Bond mentioned in early 2024, Corden said it would debut by the end of the year. The leaker claimed that Bond's comments were referring to the new Xbox Series He also said this hardware is of the portable variety.


In particular, Corden cryptically stated that 2025 would be a good year for Xbox to unveil gaming hardware that fits in the palm of your hand. He also rejected his co-host's suggestion that such a device, or its lineup, could be revealed as early as December 2024 at The Game Awards, saying he doesn't expect to see any hardware at the upcoming event. That may actually happen, but Microsoft has a history of making hardware announcements at third-party events. For example, the Xbox Series X/S was fully revealed at TGA 2019.



The Xbox handheld may not be the next-gen console

Corden himself previously claimed that the next-gen Xbox console lineup would include a handheld device, but the likelihood of that product being identical to this mysterious console rumored for a 2025 reveal is questionable at best. This is mainly because it's perfectly aligned with Microsoft's practice of announcing past consoles about 18 months ahead of their final market release. If the company continues this 20-year pattern, the portable device Corden mentioned would theoretically be on the market by the first half of 2027, assuming it's announced in late 2025.


This time frame doesn't line up with what Microsoft itself recently said would be the launch window for its next-generation Xbox consoles. In a mid-2023 legal tango with the FTC over its then-pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the company said it was targeting a 2028 launch for its next-gen console. So if Microsoft does indeed announce a handheld product in 2025, those products will likely be either a newer console or a streaming-only device like the Logitech G Cloud.

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