Next-gen Xbox will support Steam, Epic and more. Consoles will run on AMD processors

A thing to look forward to: Xbox president Sarah Bond confirmed that Microsoft’s new game console will support games from multiple digital stores and maintain backwards compatibility. A newly announced agreement between Microsoft and AMD suggests that a handheld Xbox is still being developed. All Microsoft’s future consoles, whatever they may be, are expected to use AMD technology.

Microsoft’s hardware-agnostic business model for video games and its responses to Valve’s Steam Deck have recently sparked rumors that its next console could fully abandon walled garden. This announcement by the head of Xbox confirms many details from previous rumors and eases concerns about legacy console back catalogues.

Bond explains in a one minute video that Microsoft will codevelop processors for multiple new devices, both for living room and handheld usage. The companies said that the upcoming silicon would feature next-generation graphics, and include AI in some capacity.

Although Bond did not mention Steam specifically, she stated that Microsoft was developing a platform which will support multiple devices and stores. Overall, it appears that the plan is an evolution of the recently-announced Xbox Ally handhelds running Windows OS.

Asus’s upcoming portable devices replace the traditional Windows desktop interface with a controller friendly frontend that integrates Steam, Epic Games Store, Game Pass and Microsoft Store to create a console like PC gaming experience. The only thing missing is backward compatibility for Xbox Series, Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles, as well as original Xbox games.

In and of itself, the AMD partnership isn’t surprising. AMD has produced CPUs and GPUs since the Xbox 360 console, as well for the PlayStation 4/5. Microsoft’s announcement confirms, however, that its future devices will not use AMD chips such as the Ryzen AI Z2, the chip that powers the ROG Xbox Ally portables.

One giant leap for @AMD + @Xbox and a bold chapter for the future gaming.

AMD has been working with Xbox for over 20 years, powering some of gaming’s biggest moments. As we continue to create seamless, immersive experiences that blur the boundaries between reality ,… https://t.co/8BQ4JJshMI

– Jack Huynh (@jackmhuynh)””https://twitter.com/JackMHuynh/status/1935028405386567983?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw””> June 17, 2025

It may also contradict earlier reports that Microsoft had canceled plans for a portable Xbox to support existing handheld PCs. If AMD is developing multiple custom chipsets to power a more bespoke and backward-compatible Microsoft portable system, at least one could diverge from Ryzen AI Z.

AMD and Sony are also working together to develop a SoC for the PlayStation 6 based on the Zen 6 and RDNA Architectures. Microsoft has not yet confirmed whether they will adopt the same architectures. According to rumors Sony, like Microsoft is planning to release an accompanying handheld to the PS6.