A new Xbox Handheld logo has surfaced on official game pages, fueling speculation that Microsoft may be preparing a first-party portable console alongside the upcoming Project Helix.
A user on the NeoGAF forums first noticed the badge, and a Wayback Machine archive shows it on the Gears of War: E-Day page as far back as June 8. Notebookcheck reports the same graphic also turns up on the pages for Halo: Campaign Evolved and State of Decay 3. However, it wasn’t present in the trailers shown during the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7, suggesting that Microsoft added it sometime after the event.
It’s not immediately clear if the logo has anything to do with new hardware. The Gears of War: E-Day page markets the game as well suited for portable play, so the logo could simply mean the title runs smoothly on existing third-party Windows handhelds, like the ROG Xbox Ally X. Microsoft already runs a similar compatibility check for such devices, which functions much like Valve’s Steam Deck Verified label, though it doesn’t use the same graphic as the one shown on the game pages.
Reports on a first-party Xbox handheld have flipped back and forth over the last two years. In June 2025, The Verge reported that Microsoft had essentially shelved the project. However, in February this year, a report from Windows Central revealed that the company still planned on releasing a first-party handheld eventually.
For now, the new logo offers a small clue rather than a clear answer. Whether it simply marks games that run well on existing Windows handhelds or hints at hardware still in the works remains unclear.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.