The head of Microsoft’s Xbox division, Phil Spencer, has long been hinting at the company’s desire to release a portable gaming console. At the recent AMD and Lenovo event, which was mainly dedicated to the presentation of the Legion Go S console, Phil Spencer and Microsoft vice president of emerging technologies Jason Ronald said that the company is striving to make Windows more convenient for use on portable devices.
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During a conversation with reporters, Microsoft representatives said that the company does not intend to port the Xbox operating system to Windows. Instead, the developers intend to bring Xbox functionality into the existing Windows infrastructure for an optimal gaming experience across devices.
«We’ve been innovating in the console space for a long time, and as we partner across the industry, it’s really about how do we take the innovation that we’ve created and brought to the console space onto PC and bring it into the portable gaming space “- the source quotes Jason Ronald as saying.
Ronald later confirmed that Microsoft is looking for ways to combine the capabilities of Xbox and Windows, adding that certain shifts in this direction will be visible this year. This will happen faster than the release of the portable Xbox, which may still be several years away from appearing on the market. “I would say it’s bringing the best of Xbox and Windows together because we’ve spent the last 20 years building a world-class operating system, but it’s really tied to the console. We are now focused on how to bring this experience for players and developers to the broader Windows ecosystem,” Ronald added.
He also admitted that right now Windows on portable devices is far from ideal and Valve’s SteamOS may be a much more convenient solution for these types of consoles. However, Microsoft is looking to change that by putting the player and their library of games at the center. It was also said that Microsoft plans to improve the experience of interacting with Windows through game controllers. In addition to this, the OS interface is being optimized, with the ability to hide elements such as the Start menu and taskbar to provide users with a more cohesive gaming experience. Overall, the company intends to make Windows the optimal platform for gamers using different devices.