Report: First party Xbox handheld still alive despite recent claims, next-gen Xbox could arrive as early as 2026

Up till last week (June 9-June 15), it was believed that both Xbox and Sony are working on dedicated handheld gaming devices. Even though Xbox partnered with Asus to unveil the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds, it was believed that one directly from Microsoft is still in the works. However, a recent report stated that Microsoft has cancelled those plans to focus on the portable gaming PCs like ROG Xbox Ally. But a new leak claims that is not true, and that a dedicated Xbox handheld is still in the pipeline.

The leak comes from none other than Kepler_L2 (via extas1s on YouTube) who reportedly states that the first party Xbox handheld is about one to two years away from Sony’s PlayStation handheld, in terms of development. This suggests that Microsoft is still working on its own handheld despite recent rumors of its cancellation. It also adds that the handheld is not too far away from release.

There is contradictory information about Sony’s PlayStation handheld’s release timeline as well. Some leaks suggest a 2028 release while other point to a 2027 arrival with the rumored PS6. And of course, neither Microsoft nor Sony have shared any information on their handhelds.

Furthermore, extas1s in his video also states that the next Xbox console could be announced as soon as next year. Even though consoles follow a seven-year cycle, and 2027 would ideally be the release window for the next generation consoles, Microsoft seems to want to jump in early. Kepler_L2 also reportedly claims that this next Xbox console will not be a hybrid device but a full-fledged console with an OS designed for the controller.

It was recently reported that the next Xbox console will be fully backwards compatible with past Xbox console game. The information comes from Windows Central’s Jez Cordon who claims that the next Xbox console is “100% or 99.999%” confirmed to run Xbox One, Xbox Series, and Xbox 360 games.

Microsoft could have multiple devices in the pipeline considering its prowess in both software (Windows OS) and hardware (consoles, Surface devices). However, this is all speculation at this point.