Case in point: the Xbox handheld. Rumors of some kind of Microsoft-made competitor to the Game Boy have been floating around since the original Xbox launched more than 20 years ago. And for even longer, anyone who tries to step up to Nintendo on its stomping ground — including Sega, Sony, and Nokia — gets, well, stomped.

Rumors have been flying all year that Xbox is working on a PC gaming handheld. On Wednesday, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed that plans are underway, though it sounds like an actual portable device is still a few years out.

Xbox executive Phil Spencer hinted at this possibility in an interview with Bloomberg that was published on Wednesday. As he put it, the "expectation is that [Xbox] would do something" in the handheld gaming market and the company is working on prototypes right now.

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Microsoft is developing a handheld Xbox gaming device, but it won't be released for several years. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer confirmed the company is prioritizing improvements to the Xbox app on existing devices first.

While the company has not announced concrete plans for a dedicated handheld device, presumably like the Steam Deck or ASUS ROG Ally, Spencer confirmed that Microsoft is actively prototyping and researching the market.