Our first tease of Microsoft's Xbox handheld is here

Rumors have been floating around about an Xbox handheld for years, but the claim started gaining traction just this month when reports said an Xbox handheld would launch this year. We just got the first taste of what that handheld might be from none other than ROG Ally X maker (and long-time Microsoft partner), Asus. Although nothing is set in stone yet, it looks like Asus will make the first Xbox-branded handheld, and given that we’re seeing teasers now, it could arrive very soon.

Asus and Microsoft working together?

It’s looking very likely

The Xbox handheld, which has the codename “Keenan,” really jumped into the spotlight after a report from Windows Central claimed that it would launch this year. The idea of an Xbox handheld isn’t new, and in fact, Microsoft’s Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed the company was working on a handheld last year. The report about Microsoft’s handheld was followed up by a report from The Verge, which claimed that Microsoft was working with Asus to build an Xbox-branded handheld in a bid to compete with SteamOS.

The teaser itself doesn’t show anything, but it implies that Asus is working on an Xbox handheld. It shows an ROG Ally being mixed together with Asus’ ROG Raikiri Pro controller, which is an officially licensed Xbox controller. As if that wasn’t enough of a hint, the Xbox X account — I don’t make the names, folks — responded to the teaser with a very telling meme.

It doesn’t appear that this is the official Xbox handheld, though, which Spencer warned was “a few years away” just last year. Instead, this looks like an Asus handheld that could showcase some new version of Windows built around Xbox specifically for handhelds. That’s just speculation right now, but it would make a lot of sense.

It’s no secret that Windows isn’t the ideal choice for gaming handhelds, with tools like Bazzite popping up to give users SteamOS on Windows handhelds, as well as overlays like Winhanced that fix some of the issues with Windows 11 in this form factor. More importantly, Valve announced that it would bring SteamOS to more handhelds this year, starting with the Legion Go S. It’s likely that Microsoft wants to put its stake in the ground before Valve gobbles up all of its market share in the handheld space.

Microsoft has been more active with redesigning the Xbox features in Windows to make them more friendly for handhelds, and it could be laying the groundwork for a significant redesign of Windows on handhelds. For now, though, all we can do is wait. Given that Asus is sharing a teaser now, it shouldn’t be long until we know more.