Microsoft Pauses Xbox Handheld Project to Enhance Windows 11 Portable Performance

Okay, let’s dive into this. Picture this: Microsoft playing this weird game of musical chairs with its gaming consoles. They’ve kinda hit pause on their own Xbox handheld gizmo. Why? Well, rumor has it they’re getting chummy with Asus on a gadget dubbed ‘Kennan’. I read that on Windows Central, by the way. Funny the way priorities shuffle, huh?

There’s this buzz around how folks are loving SteamOS on Windows 11 handhelds. It’s like discovering your dad’s vintage vinyl collection sounds way cooler than the streaming stuff. I mean, SteamOS has its quirks—bye-bye Game Pass—but when it works, people say it’s smooth like butter. Or maybe, more like hot buttered toast… no idea why toast came to mind.

So, back to the Xbox saga. Microsoft had these grand plans for a family of handhelds. There was even talk of this Asus deal. ‘Project Kennan’ they called it. Sounds epic, doesn’t it? Like a B-movie superhero. According to some whispers—okay, fine, more than whispers—Kennan might land later this year. Hardware’s apparently ready to roll.

Now, about that first-party Xbox handheld. It was supposed to run full Xbox games—yes, really. But—it’s like reaching for the last cookie and finding out someone beat you to it—it’s been shelved. Shelved for who knows how long.

Windows 11 is still the main guy for gaming handhelds, but SteamOS is kinda like the cool new kid on the block. The world’s shifting. The Legion Go S throws them both together like mismatched socks that somehow work. Asus ROG Ally? Same deal. It’s this classic battle of performance (go, SteamOS!) versus the all-you-can-eat ecosystem of Windows 11.

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