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

Jason Ronald, who has the excellent job title of VP of Next Generation, spoke to The Verge after a roundtable entitled “The Future of Gaming Handhelds,” where he suggested that Microsoft could also create less of a handheld Xbox,

"Our goal is to put the player and their library at the center of the experience and not all the work that you have to do today"

While an Xbox Handheld direct from Microsoft might be a ways out, the operating system to power those changes is coming sooner than you think.