I’ve been writing for more than a year about how Microsoft needs to overhaul Windows on handhelds and use an Xbox OS UI on top, keeping the complexity of the Windows desktop hid

Jason Ronald, Microsoft's VP of Next Generation, wants to bring "the best of Xbox and Windows together" on existing gaming handheld PCs.

Microsoft says it will combine the best parts of Xbox and Windows in its handheld gaming project, seeming to tease what's to come.

“I would say it’s bringing the best of Xbox and Windows together, because we have spent the last 20 years building a world-class operating system, but it’s really locked to the console,” says Ronald. “What we’re doing is we’re really focused on how do we bring those experiences for both players and developers to the broader Windows ecosystem.”

Set to take place at 6PM GMT on January 23, 2025, the Xbox Developer Direct event will see the developers behind four huge Xbox titles reveal more about their upcoming games. Three of them are mentioned by name, with a mysterious fourth teased as a ‘surprise’.

Microsoft has said that it plans to bring the best of Xbox and Windows gaming experiences for handheld devices.

Microsoft may be working on an Xbox handheld but it's also promising to improve the gaming experience across all Windows gaming handhelds. The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

Microsoft is working on new software for gaming handhelds which will “put the player and their library at the center of the experience". And we may not have long to wait, as Microsoft will reportedly share more later this year.

Microsoft says it’s going to be bringing Xbox experiences to PC gaming handhelds, a move that should drastically improve the user experience on these machines. Ever since the first Windows 11 handhelds were released,