Windows 11 is often cited as the worst thing about handheld gaming PCs - but it looks like Microsoft could soon fix this.

Valve’s handheld device, the Steam Deck, wasn’t the first portable gaming PC ever created, but it is by the far the most successful. And like Steam becoming the de facto way people play PC games in 2025,

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.

If Microsoft actually pulls this one off, the world of handheld gaming consoles could be forever changed, and its goals are certainly ambitious.

“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.”

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,