I’ve been DMed a link to this story multiple times over the last week. People have asked for my take on the rumors of the Xbox handheld. Is it doom and gloom? Nah. Let’s get into it.
Reading the article from Windows Central, it seems that Microsoft is partnering with an OEM (it’s not clear which one) in order to deliver a Windows handheld that sports a revamped user interface that should better accommodate handheld gamers. This has some folks concerned. And there were more than a few ideas here that ticked my up my anxiety.
One thing that caught my attention in the article was, quote:
I expect the handheld will test new Windows 11 “device aware” capabilities, while reducing third-party OEM bloatware that are typical of devices like the Lenovo Legion Go and ASUS ROG Ally. I expect Microsoft will leverage widgets on the Xbox Game Bar on PC for controlling things like TDP and fan speed, while hopefully having a more streamlined OS experience for controller use. Of course, existing PC gaming OEMs will benefit from these efforts as well — but the research will also help with Microsoft’s further-out plans.
This is speculation on author Jez Cordon’s part, here. But it’s informed speculation. And, let me tell you, if there’s one thing that Microsoft is good at, it’s the bald-faced theft of a competitor’s innovative idea.
And essentially, what Jez believes Microsoft will do is integrate TDP controls into the Xbox Game Bar… which is basically the performance menu on the Steam Deck.
[With emphasis] And, let me tell you, if there’s one thing that Microsoft is good at, it’s bald-faced theft of a competitor’s innovative idea.
Now, I’m not saying that Valve owns—nor should they own—the idea of a menu that lets you manage your device. But aping good UX to borg-ify it into their hodgepodge, technical debt-laden UI of antiquity? That’s their bread and butter.
Honestly, though, this could be a good thing. If Microsoft sets a new standard API for mediating TDP/Fan curve/monitor refresh control/etc then it will help gamers when they ditch Windows for Linux as new hardware built to that spec would be more easily supported on Linux, too.
However, Microsoft’s going to have to do a lot more than put a third party Xbox-like handheld on the market and port the Xbox UI to Windows.
And, rumor has it, they’re going to bring their next gen hardware to market in 2027… and it will include a first-party handheld.
Their plans for the future include bringing the Xbox OS to other devices. The Verge reported Jason Ronald, Microsoft’s VP of “Next Generation” said quote:
I would say [our plan is] 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.
Now, this is one of the chilling thoughts I had: will Microsoft offer their unified Xbox/Windows OS to OEMs for free in exchange for locking their devices to their ecosystem? It’s something Microsoft would definitely do.
And how would opening up the Xbox platform to third party manufacturers cannibalize Microsoft’s own hardware prosects? We’re not far off from next gen hardware becoming current gen. And if Microsoft goes the OEM route, will it steal what little momentum the brand has left? I think it will.
The other issue, though is that Microsoft has proven that if they had to design a UI to navigate their way out of a paper bag, they would be incapable of delivering such a user experience without acquiring some startups and burning a few billion dollars while they were at it.
The fact is, Microsoft hired an outside firm to design the Xbox 360’s blades dashboard. But they now handle all that internally as far as I’m aware. And they absolutely suck at it.
Setting aside the pathologically terrible Metro UI and ignoring the questionable choices of antique WIndows desktop experiences… the user experience is one of the many reasons that Windows 11 is so reviled and why Windows 11 lost 10% of its marketshare last month… not to Linux or even Mac, but to WIndows 10. The UI is ugly, clunky, and littered with ads and other distractions that get in your way and attempt to manipulate you.
But Microsoft has also proven that their management is so fundamentally detached from the wants and needs of their own audience that they’re willing to invest decades and hundreds of billions of dollars into forcing their vision of the brand on their fans and failing to meet any reasonable metric of success for their trouble. [Xbox Game Pass logo] No, I said reasonable metric.
Game Pass is a corpocratic post-capitalist ponzi-scheme… and a failing one at that.
Maybe Microsoft will prove me wrong and their handheld OS will somehow, miraculously, right the Xbox ship. That’s still a good thing because Valve needs competition. They can’t be the only one in the PC game. Wasn’t it just last month we heard about how Amazon wasted millions of dollars challenging Valve only to fail spectacularly?
Microsoft is bigger than Amazon. They have the potential. They have a brand that gamers respected. But the problem is that the brand’s reputation is in the dumps with core gamers and Window’s only saving grace is that online-only games work on the platform where they usually don’t on Linux.
The fact is, Microsoft is so bafflingly incompetent, it’s priorities are so perverted, and their attention so fleeting that I suspect all their investment here will be as fruitless as the Xbox Series platform.
But I hope that all this lights a fire under Valve and helps them approach other OEMs to get SteamOS on more handhelds.