Xbox "Project Kennan" handheld revealed – will it release this year?

It's been known for quite a while that Xbox is working on its own gaming handheld, it even admitted as much at CES 2025 in January. But now we've found out much more about it, and its release could be sooner than expected.

A recent report, which revealed a few key details about the new device along with its internal name, Project Kennan, claimed that the Steam Deck rival will be available later this year. Now there's an update on how that might happen.

Initially covered by Jez Corden at Windows Central, the handheld is said to be coming with its own tweaked operating system based on Windows, and could start at around $499 for a base model. There will be two devices with varying specs, it is claimed.

Perhaps the biggest new piece of news though is that Project Kennan will be manufactured by Asus. The Verge hints that it could even be a modified Asus ROG Ally or ROG Ally 2.

Windows Central also suggests that it will run on AMD Ryzen Z2 processing, much like the upgraded Lenovo Legion Go series set also for release this year.

As for the release window, it is suggested that the new handheld could be formally announced either at Microsoft's Build developers conference in May or the following month during the annual Xbox Showcase event.

Corden claims that it will act as a precursor to a true Xbox Next home console, which is likely to appear in 2027. That particular machine is said to be a PC in a "TV-friendly shell", so could work intrinsically with the handheld when it does arrive.

Either way, we doubt we've heard the last of either of the new Xbox consoles and there will undoubtedly be plenty of updates and rumours to come.

T3 will let you know whenever there's more.