New Details For Xbox’s ‘Project Keenan’ Handheld, Release Aims Beyond 2025

Although Xbox has remained a wildcard platform since its inception against both PlayStation & Nintendo, the concept of a portable handheld has yet to be fully realized by the firm. Currently, it is tackling mobile gaming through its own means of Xbox Cloud Gaming. But, Phil Spencer in 2024 did confirm that some form of prototyping is underway internally for its own in-house device at Microsoft.

Even more, the new path set ahead for an Xbox portable also opens for better integration for Windows as well. Although the Xbox interface has been mastered, proper Windows compatibility has remained a weak effort. And though attempts have been made with Compact Mode in the past, it does not pull the weight needed.

For GDC, the Xbox firm has already offered a layout for its attendance at the event as it plans to further embrace its multiplatform support. And from current conversations during the show, more has been shared about Project Keenan – the current handheld initiative for Xbox. While Windows Central reports a 2025 release is expected, The Verge confirms it to come later and also speaks to Microsoft vice president of “Next Generation” Jason Roland on the matter.

“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. 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,” Roland shares on the drive for Project Keenan. He continues by hinting new details will be revealed in 2025.

“I think, at the end of the day, our goal is to make Windows great for gaming on any device. The reality is the Xbox operating system is built on top of Windows. So there’s a lot of infrastructure that we built in the console space that we can bring to the PC space and really deliver that premium gaming experience on any device.” Roland truly emphasizes on the ‘Xbox experience’ coming to Windows when speaking on stage at GDC.

“There’s fundamental interaction models that we’re working on to make sure that regardless of the operating system details it feels very natively like a gaming-centric device and a gaming-centric experience. […] We’ve been really innovating for a long time in the console space, and as we partner across the industry it’s really about how do we bring 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.”

Are you interested in the direction Microsoft is going with Project Keenan?

Source: The Verge