Signs of Microsoft’s efforts to bring its Windows and Xbox platforms closer together have started appearing online. Case in point, the just-dropped YouTube trailer for MIO: Memories In Orbit shows the game’s availability on both Steam and "Xbox PC." Microsoft’s press release for Gears of War: Reloaded also mentioned that it's coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming, PlayStation 5, and Steam this summer. This shows how the company is pushing for gamers to use the Xbox app on their gaming PCs instead of just installing a title directly, with Redmond aiming squarely at Steam.
Aside from these mentions, the Xbox App also received a massive change — Xbox users can now see their Xbox console games in the Xbox app library on their PCs. The Verge believes that this was intentional on the part of Microsoft to “closely combine its Xbox and Windows stores.”
While the Nintendo Switch pioneered modern handheld consoles (with the Switch 2 dropping in stores a few days ago), Steam Deck revolutionized it in 2022 when it allowed gamers to play their favorite PC games on such a portable device while running SteamOS. Other PC manufacturers soon followed suit, with Asus, Lenovo, MSI, and even Zotac launching their own competitors. All of them used Windows 11 — until Lenovo launched the Legion Go S With SteamOS.
This console ditched Windows in favor of Valve’s Linux-based operating system, so it’s normal for one to think that this would primarily be a Steam Deck competitor. But since the Legion Go S is also available with Microsoft’s OS, reviewers were able to compare the performance of both devices with the same specifications. Some initial reviews claimed that the Valve-powered device could outperform by Windows-powered version by as much as 75%. Although not surprising, the results probably still alarmed Microsoft, with reports saying the company shelved its work on a first-party Xbox handheld to focus on revamping Windows 11 portable performance.
To be fair, Microsoft has already had something like this in the works for months (or maybe even years) now. News leaked that Asus has been working on Project Kennan, a handheld gaming console that will carry the Xbox brand and has been more closely integrated with Xbox Game Pass. The OEM even dropped a teaser a couple of days before Nintendo launched the Switch 2, although details about the actual console are still sparse. Nevertheless, we expect it to arrive in late 2025, which is the likely reason why we’re starting to see Xbox PC logos on game launches.
The Microsoft Xbox Series X|S is sorely lagging behind the Sony PlayStation 5 in sales, with the PS5 estimated to have sold over 75 million units — more than double the Xbox Series X|S’s total of over 33 million units. Windows is still king in PC gaming, but its leadership is being threatened by SteamOS. Most desktop and laptop gamers still stick with Windows, even though you can install SteamOS on your PC (but it isn't mainstream gaming desktop ready, as yet). However, handheld gamers now have an option between Windows and SteamOS on the same device, and this likely has kept Microsoft and Xbox executives awake at night.
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