Microsoft Will Combine Xbox and Windows Experience for Handheld PCs This Year

Handheld PCs are all the rage these days, with more being announced at CES. Lenovo is launching the Legion Go S, the world's first non-Valve handheld PC with SteamOS, an announcement met with much fanfare. Why? It's because the gaming experience on handhelds with Windows has lots of problems. Microsoft knows it's a problem and plans to bring meaningful updates to improve the Xbox gaming experience on PC handhelds this year.

Speaking with The Verge at CES, Jason Ronald, Microsoft's VP of Next Generation, touched on the company's plans to improve its gaming services on compact PCs. Ronald spoke about the company's ambitions to merge the best features of Xbox consoles and Windows PCs on handhelds.

The ASUS ROG Ally is a Windows-based handheld PC. Microsoft has committed to improve the Xbox gaming experience on handheld computers at CES 2025. ASUS

"I would say it's bringing 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," said Ronald. "What we're doing is we're really focused on how do we bring those experiences for both players and developers to the broader Windows ecosystem."

Windows-based handheld PCs often include a custom OS layer from the hardware manufacturer to present a UI fit for a small device. However, the handhelds are still running the full version of Windows underneath the layer, causing friction in usability in many cases.

In contrast, Valve's SteamOS is also, essentially, a UI layer on top of a custom desktop Linux environment but is highly optimized for handheld gaming. That's what makes the Steam Deck the best place to play PC games on the go.

Ronald recognizes the issues with the current Windows handheld experience. He says the team's goal is to bring the experience closer to what you experience on an Xbox console.

"We're focused on really simplifying that and making it much more like a console experience. Our goal is to put the player and their library at the center of the experience and not all the [Windows] work that you have to do today."

Microsoft recently added a compact mode for the Xbox app on PC for handhelds, but more updates are planned to improve the experience further. While Microsoft's own Xbox handheld is years away, some of these updates might ship later this year to existing handhelds.

"I think we'll have a lot more to share later this year," added Ronald. "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."