Microsoft says it wants to bring together its Xbox and Windows ecosystems into a handheld device.

Speaking during an AMD and Lenovo event called “The Future of Gaming Handhelds,” Jason Ronald, Microsoft’s VP of “Next Generation,” teased some of its portable hardware plans. Per The Verge, Ronald said Microsoft has been “innovating for a long time in the console space,” leading it to look into how to take “those innovations that we’ve incubated and developed in the console space and bring them to PC and bring them to the handheld gaming space.”

In a post-event interview with The Verge, Ronald added that Microsoft wants to bring “the best of Xbox and Windows together, because we have spent the last 20 years building a world-class operating system, but it’s really locked to the console.” The goal, he says, is to bring those experiences to “the broader Windows ecosystem.” Given that Ronald is emphasizing the Windows angle, it would appear that this would be separate from the Xbox handheld that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has repeatedly discussed but is likely still years away.

In the meantime, focusing on improving the portable Windows experience certainly makes sense. As The Verge notes, the Windows experience on handhelds is rough, leading many to turn to SteamOS workarounds. Ronald acknowledged these issues in his interview with The Verge, saying that Microsoft is “focused on really simplifying that [Windows on handhelds] and making it much more like a console experience.” Specifically, he admits that “there’s just certain things in Windows that were not designed for if you don’t have a keyboard and mouse, like thumbstick support or joypads.”

Interestingly, Lenovo’s just-revealed Legion Go S, which was a focal point of The Future of Gaming Handhelds event, will allow you to choose between models running Windows 11 and SteamOS. However, the latter option is coming four months later as it’s still in development.

Outside of the Windows side of things, Microsoft’s presence on PC gaming handhelds largely relates to Xbox. For one, the company’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service allows you to stream hundreds of games to devices like the Steam Deck, and it’s specifically partnered with the likes of Logitech to promote that. On top of that, many of the company’s first-party games, like Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves, are on Steam and can be played natively on devices like the Steam Deck.

Ultimately, it remains to be seen what this Windows gaming handheld will end up being, but we might not have to wait too long to learn more. “I think it’s going to be a journey and I think you’ll see a lot of investments over time that you’re starting to see already, but we’ll have a lot more to share later this year,” Ronald teased to The Verge.

Image credit: Microsoft

Source: The Verge