I’m not sure what exactly Microsoft’s game is here. Like yeah, they’re tapping into a market segment they’re not currently participating in, with the additional benefit of giving Xbox gamers access to their existing libraries, I get that, but then what? Like, assuming that these are still gonna be fully functional PCs that people can install third party storefronts on, doesn’t this just run the risk of losing existing customers to other software vendors? I can already see the people coming from Xbox onto a Microsoft handheld and then getting hooked by a Steam Sale or EGS freebie, spending less money in MS’s ecosystem over time.
Maybe they’re hoping that the same effect could happen in reverse, but tbh I’m not sure how many Steam/Epic/GOG/Itch/whatever gamers would start building a library in the Xbox storefront. I’d wager it’s a lesser number than those they’ll lose with this sort of device.