McCaffrey asked about the possibility of a new Xbox handheld, to which Spencer replied, “I think we should have a handheld too.” Even though Spencer didn’t provide many details and proposed to the interviewer to ask the president of Xbox at Microsoft, Sarah Bond, he seemed optimistic and suggested new products would be revealed soon. “The future for us in hardware is pretty awesome,” said Spencer, and he added that he is excited about “the work that the team is doing around different form factors and different ways to play.” McCaffrey insisted on more information around the topic and requested Spencer to say, hypothetically, if a new device would have the option to use it independently offline or if it would require a wi-fi connection. “I think being able to play games locally is really important,” answered Spencer. Users have been suspicious of a potential Xbox handheld device for months as they had noticed hints like Spencer’s likes about handhelds on X—before they were hidden. After IGN’s interview, many echoed their excitement and interest in the idea of a new handheld device. “This would be awesome to see! Really hope they’re actually working on one,” said one user on X. “Spencer’s optimism is kinda cute. But let’s not get our hopes up too high just yet. The future of Xbox hardware might be ‘awesome’, but we’ve heard that before, and it still hasn’t materialized into a handheld console. Guess we’ll have to wait and see what actually pans out,” commented another. It has not been confirmed whether the new hardware announcements will be made by the fall or the end of the year or if the new device could be announced along with the new generations. Xbox fans will have to wait patiently for new developments. — Everborn (NYCC ’24 Booth 2039) Saga (@EverbornSaga) June 10, 2024
