Despite Nintendo in the ultimate champion of the handheld video game market for a long time, Microsoft is arriving in the handheld market to provide a healthy competition for Nintendo. It has been announced already that Microsoft will launch its first handheld console soon.
Sony was also active in the handheld video game market for a long time, and their PlayStation Portable, which is also known as PSP, is one of the highest selling consoles ever, selling over 80 million units worldwide. PSP is still considered one of the best handheld consoles of all time.
Update on the upcoming handheld console from Microsoft Xbox
But after the failure of PlayStation Vita, aka PSV, which was the successor to the PSP, Sony decided to exit the handheld market. Extremely low compared to the 80 million sales of the PSP. It allowed Nintendo to become the undisputed champion in the market of handheld video games.
Microsoft recently announced that they are working on an Xbox handheld console
Recently, it has been announced by Microsoft that they are also entering the handheld market to provide a healthy competition to Nintendo. It was expected to launch by 2026, however, recently it has been reported by Microsoft that this Xbox handheld console may face more delays.
This is going to be the first Xbox Handheld console
"Microsoft still wants to build its own Xbox handheld in the future," suggests the report. "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."
Check out the list of Switch games that are not playable in upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console here
After the report came out, it is now pretty much confirmed that this console is not coming anywhere near in 2025, which was already expected. But the real question is, will Microsoft be able to launch this console by 2026? As of now, chances are not very high. But we can still look forward to a great competition with Nintendo.
