Asus is the launch partner for the xbox themed windows handheld
the Xbox work that has hit the headlines this week is actually called Project Kennan, not Keenan. I’m told that Kennan is the codename for a handheld that is being manufactured by Asus, and it’s part of a larger effort from Microsoft to unify Windows and Xbox towards a universal library of Xbox and PC games.
I’m told that Asus is one of the launch partners for these efforts, with an Xbox-branded handheld likely to debut later this year. I say likely because a lot of this platform work is still ongoing, so until Microsoft officially announces it, timelines could change.
Some of this platform work is codenamed Project Bayside, part of an Xbox UX framework that is designed to ensure there’s a common Xbox UI across multiple devices to help combine Windows and Xbox. Together, Kennan and Bayside represent some of the work that Ronald was hinting at, opening up the benefits of Xbox to the broader Windows ecosystem.
Windows Central reports that Microsoft is working on a “premium successor” to the Xbox Series X alongside its own Xbox handheld that is tentatively slated for release in 2027. I’m fully expecting Microsoft’s next Xbox console to be a lot more PC-like, so the Kennan and Bayside projects will likely give us an early look at how the next-gen Xbox will take shape on the software side, at least.
These Xbox platform changes could also help fend off the threat of SteamOS. I wrote last year that Microsoft is now in a handheld gaming PC race, with Valve allowing device makers to offer SteamOS on their handhelds instead of Windows. Microsoft has been slow to respond to the Steam Deck, particularly around improving the Windows experience on handhelds like Asus’ ROG Ally. Valve opening up SteamOS last summer and then Lenovo introducing its own SteamOS-powered handheld in January will have sounded the alarms inside Microsoft, because if one Windows OEM has already been tempted by SteamOS then what’s stopping more of them from switching?
This is particularly relevant beyond the emerging market of handhelds, too. Valve is now in a far better position to make its console-like Steam Machines a reality, thanks to the success of the Steam Deck and its Proton work. If OEMs get comfortable with SteamOS on their handhelds, the next logical step is a demand for SteamOS on something more like a miniature PC or game console.
https://www.theverge.com/notepad-mi…icrosoft-xbox-handheld-project-kennan-notepad