An industry insider claims that Microsoft’s rumoredXboxhandheld will be able to run PlayStation 5 games. Rumors of a handheld Xbox console have been circulating for years, but wererecently semi-confirmed by Phil Spencer, who claimed that handheld prototypes are already in the works at Microsoft. Although it could still be some time until the console is released, players are already speculating about the potential handheld’s library, and whether it’ll be aremote streaming device like the PlayStation Portal, or a full-blown handheld console.
Industry insiderTom Warrenweighed in on that debate in a response on X (formerly Twitter) to player concerns. Warren, a Senior Editor atThe Vergereporting on developments in the Xbox and PC space, claimed that “Microsoft’s handheld will also run PlayStation games, because Sony puts their games on PC.” What this seems to imply is that Microsoft’s handheld might not exactly be an Xbox -it’s likely to be closer to a handheld gaming PC, not unlike the Steam Deck or the Lenovo Legion Go.
While it’s unclear whether Warren actually knows this to be true of Microsoft’s early handheld prototypes, or whether he’s just speculating, he’s got a point.Microsoft has been trending more towards the PC side of hardware development, and that trend is likely to continue in its future releases.
How PS5 Games Could Work On A Microsoft Handheld
The End Of Console Exclusivity
Warren’s reasoning for the claim that PlayStation games will work on Xbox’s future handheld relies on two assumptions, but both of them have a basis in fact. The first holds that any future Microsoft hardware releases will be more high-end gaming PCs than home consoles, and that is reflected in recent trends. Writing forThe Verge,Warren himself cites the Series X/S' in-depth graphical modesas evidence that Microsoft is trending towards developing mini-PCs. This does set it apart from, say, most PS5 games' “performance-focused” or “quailty-focused” settings, and brings it closer to the in-depth graphical modes commonly seen on PC.
Warren linked theVergearticle cited above in a reply to his original post on X.
Perhaps more compelling, though, is Phil Spencer’s interest in making third-party PC game stores, like Epic Games and Itch.io, available on Xbox consoles. In order for that to happen, Warren says,the Xbox X/S will need to be able to run PC games. And again, he’s got a point: if you’re going to put PC games up for sale on your console, you’d better verify those games work.
And at the same time,more and more PlayStation games are indeed showing up on PC stores, and the same can be said forXbox exclusives on PS5. These are typically timed exclusives that start on the PS5, then come to Steam and the Epic Games Store a year or two later (thinkSpider-Man,Ghost of Tsushima,Horizon,God of War: Ragnarök, et cetera).
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So it’s fairly easy to see how those two trends could converge: if Microsoft is indeed working on a handheld, that handheld will be able to play PC games from the Epic Games Store, and Sony keeps putting first-party PlayStation games on PC after an initial period of exclusivity, thenit’s only logical that the rumored Xbox handheld may eventually be able to access those PlayStation games, and the same may eventually be said of Sony’s handheld, too.
Screen Rant’s Take: In The Absence Of Exclusivity, Everybody Wins
Games Should Be For Everyone
At this point,it seems like everyone - even major hardware developers - is sick of the console wars. Huge, triple-A exclusives might’ve once sold hardware, but those days are behind us. Most players buy consoles based on their own brand loyalty, what their friends are playing, or their budget and preferences. With PS5 exclusivity a thing of the past, PC players, meanwhile, have nothing to worry about, and can pick up whatever titles they want. And with the low console sales of our current generation, it seems like players are coming to realize the benefits of PC gaming outweigh the struggles.
Microsoft’s exploration of third-party game stores and PC-like consoles seems to acknowledge this trend, too. Everyone stands to benefit from the end of exclusivity: players since they’ll have more great games to explore, devs/publishers because a wider audience means bigger profits, and hardware producers because the lack of certain exclusives won’t drive consumers towards their competitors. As a result, this latest insight into the futureXboxhandheld is a promising development for just about everyone.
