Six ways Microsoft’s portable Xbox could be a Steam Deck killer

The long-running rumors and hints that Microsoft is planning to enter the portable gaming market accelerated forward this week. That’s thanks to a Windows Central report that Microsoft is planning to partner with a “PC gaming OEM” for “an Xbox-branded gaming handheld” to be released later this year. The device, code-named Keenan, will reportedly feature “Xbox design sensibilities,” such as the branded Xbox guide button, but will almost certainly be a PC gaming device running Windows at its core.

Any Microsoft entry into the world of gaming handhelds will join a market that has become quite crowded in the wake of the Steam Deck’s success. To make its own portable gaming effort stand apart, Microsoft will have to bring something unique to the table. Here are some of the features we’re hoping will let Microsoft do just that.

A bespoke user interface

For decades, Windows has been designed first and foremost for the world of large monitors driven by a mouse and keyboard world. When hardware makers try to simply stick that OS into a handheld screen size controlled by buttons and analog sticks, the results can be awkward at best.

To be worthy of the Xbox brand, Microsoft needs to design a front-end that is built from the ground up for handheld use case. That means large, easy-to-read design elements that can be easily navigated and selected without a mouse. It also means following SteamOS’s example in surfacing the settings and tools most important to gamers.

Microsoft’s years of experience building elegant controller-driven interfaces for the Xbox console line should give the company a leg up in building a similar interface on top of Windows. Thus far, though, Microsoft has shown no interest in re-creating that console-like interface through the Windows Xbox app. Here’s hoping previous reports that Microsoft is working on a “lightweight version” of the Xbox user interface for handheld gaming end up panning out.

A gaming-focused OS

While Windows has been the premier PC gaming operating system for a while now, the operating system as a whole is obviously designed for much more than gaming. For a gaming-focused handheld, Microsoft needs to make a version of the operating system that’s streamlined to focus on the tools and features game makers and players need without all the bloat associated with ones they don’t.

The 2017 introduction of Windows Game Mode was a step in the right direction here, turning off unnecessary background processes and focusing CPU and memory resources on the game in question. And Microsoft’s Xbox consoles have long been built off a Windows core, showing how the PC OS can be modified for gaming purposes.

For a dedicated gaming handheld, though, Microsoft should go even further and craft a miniature version of Windows that’s laser-focused on running one game at a time on specific portable hardware. Besides streamlining performance, reducing OS overhead, and improving battery life, such a move would mean portable Xbox gamers won’t have to worry about automatic printer driver updates or a bunch of mysterious background tasks clogging up their processor.

More than just Xbox

Any Xbox-branded portable gaming system will obviously integrate deeply with Microsoft’s existing Windows Xbox App. But it would be a mistake for Microsoft to restrict the hardware to that Microsoft-controlled platform. Players should be able to install games from competitors like Steam, the Epic Games Store, GoG, and others on their Xbox-branded handheld, even if that doesn’t necessarily align with the branding.

This kind of functionality doesn’t have to be front and center in the portable’s streamlined UI; Microsoft could hide these features behind a special system option, a la the Steam Deck’s Linux desktop mode. But power users who don’t want to limit themselves to Microsoft’s online store will need to be able to treat their Xbox handheld like any other Windows device if they so choose.

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