Asus drops teaser for Xbox 'Keenan' handheld — reveals sneak peek days before Switch 2 launch

Rumors about an Xbox handheld have been flying around, and Asus just fanned the flames a bit more by dropping a teaser on its X (formerly Twitter) account. The video shows an animated robot programming improvements on a terminal for itself. Just as it was about to implement the changes, a device that looks like an ROG Ally X gaming console and an ROG Raikiri Pro controller fell in with the character. After the dust settles, the robot apparently turns into a gaming console that looks vaguely similar to the company’s current top-end handheld.

What made this social media posting even more interesting was that the official Xbox account replied with the side-eye meme. Nothing official has been announced yet, by any means, but Microsoft’s response likely refers to Project Kennan — the gaming handheld it’s developing with Asus that’s designed to unify Xbox and Windows as one platform. While neither party has revealed anything specific, the video gave us a preview of what to expect from this planned Xbox handheld. This includes a longer battery life, better performance, and bigger storage, alongside a new look for this handheld.

Asus posted the video on March 31, 2025, at 2 pm EST. The company likely did this to avoid the teaser from being misconstrued as an April Fool’s prank, especially as many other tech companies are posting jokes of their own. However, just like its April 1 ROG Ally reveal a couple of years ago, it seems that this teased Xbox console is legit.

Another thing we should note is that the much-anticipated Switch 2 is set to be announced at Nintendo Direct on April 2. This Asus reveal could therefore be an attempt to steal Nintendo’s thunder — and while it did not have much information, it likely caused a stir among PC gamers and handheld gaming enthusiasts. It still probably won’t sway hardcore Nintendo enthusiasts, though.

We’re not expecting a new Xbox console until 2027, but the arrival of an 'Xbox handheld' will certainly be most welcome. We just hope that this will run Xbox games natively, and not just be a Windows 11 device with an Xbox skin on top of it.