Sony's Project Q handheld could very well play Xbox games

Sony PlayStation Project Q
(Image credit: Sony)

What you need to know

  • Project Q is a forthcoming Sony PlayStation handheld gaming device revealed at a recent showcase. 
  • A new leak points to Project Q being based on Android (which isn't totally shocking). 
  • And that means you could very well be playing Xbox games on a PlayStation handheld in the future. 

There's a couple of very good reasons for posting about Sony's recently revealed PlayStation Project Q handheld on a site that's known for Windows and Xbox. The first is that it's interesting to keep tabs on what the competition is up to, but the second is that recent leaks point to a future where you could be playing Xbox games on this thing. 

Over on Twitter, sorry, X, @Zuby_Tech has posted some leaked images of Project Q out in the wild. One of said images clearly shows that, not surprisingly, it's based on Android. 

Android means there's a good chance that you'll be able to load up the Xbox Game Pass app on your Sony PlayStation handheld and stream some sweet, sweet games from the cloud. It's just a shame that Sony insists on having its analog sticks in the wrong place. 

It's not remotely surprising that Sony, like Razer and Logitech, is using Android for a handheld that seems geared towards remote play over native as you get on the Steam Deck. Sony, like Microsoft, also makes Android phones, so it's a natural fit. Even if there's no Play Store baked in, it won't take a great deal to put Xbox Game Pass on here you feel. The same can be said of GeForce Now and Amazon Luna. 

The design is certainly questionable, and obviously it's heavily geared towards PlayStation 5 owners. However, if, like me, you own a PS5 alongside an Xbox and a gaming PC, at the right price Project Q could still turn some heads. If it's affordable enough with good enough Android performance, it could certainly be worth a look. Especially for those of us in the world who never got the Razer Edge

We'll be keeping a closer eye on this one now for sure. 

Richard Devine
Managing Editor - Tech, Reviews

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine