Microsoft is said to be working on an Xbox-branded gaming handheld in collaboration with an OEM partner. A report earlier this week said that an Xbox handheld, codenamed “Project Keenan”, would launch later in 2025. A new report, however, says that handheld is not Xbox hardware and will be a partner device manufactured by Asus. It’s also reportedly called “Project Kennan” — not “Keenan”. The new device reportedly represents Microsoft’s push to combine Windows and Xbox experiences for gaming and will likely feature a revamped Windows user interface closer to the one present on Xbox consoles.
Asus Making Xbox-Branded Handheld
The information comes from The Verge’s Tom Warren, who said in a new report published Wednesday that Microsoft’s plans for its gaming division for 2025 and beyond were focussed on combining Windows and Xbox experiences. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report claimed that the handheld device planned for later this year would be part of the company’s larger push to bring together Windows and Xbox for a unversal library of PC and console games.
The handheld is reportedly being manufactured by Asus, the Taiwanese PC maker that has its own line of Windows-based gaming handhelds, the Asus ROG Ally. The device is internally known as “Project Kennan” and not “Project Keenan” as the Windows Central report had claimed earlier this week.
The Xbox-branded Asus handheld will likely launch later this year, the report said. It will run on Windows but will come with a modified interface that looks a lot like what you can find on an Xbox console. The platform to unify Xbox and Windows experiences is reportedly codenamed Project Bayside, which will essentially bring Xbox interface to Windows-based devices.
The idea, according to the report, is to get Xbox games working on other devices and offering a single PC and Xbox games storefront and library that can work for variety of devices — Xbox consoles, Windows PC and handhelds.
The Asus ROG Ally X seen at Computex 2024
Project Kennan Details
Windows Central corroborated The Verge’s new report, claiming that the partner handheld was indeed being manufactured by Asus and was codenamed “Project Kennan”. According to the publication, the device will feel a lot like the ROG Ally but with design conventions of an Xbox device, with “more prominent grips and a dedicated Xbox guide-style button”.
As the device will be Windows-based, players will be able to run other game strorefronts and launchers like Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, the EA app, Ubisoft Plus and others, the report said. Additionally, the base model Xbox-branded Asus handheld could be priced between $499 and $599 (roughly between Rs. 43,400 and Rs. 52,000) and could come in two different SKUs. Finally, the device could be revealed this summer before it’s launched later this year, the report said.
Neither Microsoft nor Asus have announced their plans for an Xbox-branded gaming handheld yet. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, however, has expressed interest in an Xbox handheld and has said the expectation was for the company to bring its own handheld device to market.
In an interview with Bloomberg in November 2024, the Xbox chief had said the company was working on prototypes for a device in that form factor. Spencer said he had asked his group to develop its vision for the device based on its learnings from the market. However, he believed an Xbox handheld was a “few years out”.
