“If there’s demand, we’re going to build it” – that’s the message from Microsoft to Xbox fans curious about next-generation gaming consoles and handhelds.

Following the release of the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X handheld, which saw Microsoft partner-up with the Taiwanese manufacturer, many are wondering whether a first-party Xbox handheld might be in the pipeline. As well as confirming (yet again) Microsoft is still very much in the console hardware game with a next-gen hardware in development, Xbox president Sarah Bond said the company is open to building a handheld too.

She told Variety (via Windows Central): “We are 100% looking at making things in the future. We have our next-gen hardware in development. We’ve been looking at prototyping, designing. We have a partnership we’ve announced with AMD around it, so that is coming.

“What we saw here [with the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally] was an opportunity to innovate in a new way and to bring gamers another choice, in addition to our next-gen hardware. We are always listening to what players and creators want. When there is demand for innovation, we’re going to build it.”

That’s probably the clearest hint yet that Microsoft might take the experience of working with an established player like ASUS to go out on its own with a first-party Xbox handheld that’d rival the Steam Deck.

Bond added: “We looked at, how do we create multiple options for people? And it really was ASUS, because this is their hardware. That is all of their insight into the market, into the feature set, into what people want, to determine the ultimate prices of the devices.”

She said working with ASUS enabled Microsoft to “really begin to transform the experience and take it to that next level in a way that we could do partnered much quicker.”

Given the ASUS/Xbox model quickly sold out despite its high price probably tells you the demand is there for a first-party product. We’re excited to see what Microsoft has in store.