This DIY Xbox Handheld Looks as If It Came Straight Outta 2001

Microsoft still can’t figure out whether or not to make an Xbox handheld. Sure, it’s never made a real attempt, but if the Redmond tech giant wants inspiration, it should look no further than this DIYer who crafted his own beautiful handheld based on the original Xbox from the halcyon days of 2001. The Xbox Steam Deck-like uses the console’s actual motherboard and will play any of the games that came out over its eight-year lifespan. Before you ask, the creator is working on adding WiFi connectivity so it can return to Halo 2 multiplayer over a revitalized version of Xbox Live.

The handheld Xbox is a big, black brick machine, but it takes so many design cues from the original console that it could have come straight from the drawing board of Seamus Blackley and the other Xbox creators. The console’s creator, who goes by Redherring32 online, said the handheld sports a large 9-inch 480p display. The project required him to trim an original Xbox motherboard down to size, which took him four whole months to do. Now, he’s providing a guide for anybody who wants to do the same.

© GIf: Redherring32

Over Discord, Redherring32 told Gizmodo he’s been mostly using it to play Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. It’s taken a lot of effort to get here, and he said, “The thought of playing Halo: CE portably is one of the things that kept me going on this project.”

The developer first became interested in the “portablizing” scene after he watched YouTuber Shank Mods’ 2018 video, where he ported a Wii into an Altoids tin. The Nintendo Wii has proved surprisingly scalable, but the Xbox hasn’t received the same treatment. Redherring decided to start on the project last year for the 2023 BitBuilt Summer Building Competition, and he’s reentered the project again for this year. The finalists for the indie developer competition won’t be revealed until Nov. 8.

Looking at the project now, I feel nostalgic for those odd black-and-white buttons on the original Xbox controller. The designer told me the shell is an original design 3D-printed from industrial-level plastic. Redherring provided the files if you wish to print one yourself. Inside, the pared-down motherboard is combined with 12 custom PCBs for all the various controls and components. The project is fully open source, and you can download all the files for your own handheld on the creator’s GitHub.

Of course, the size will limit its functionality. The device usually gets about 1.5 hours of playtime, though it supports up to 100W of USB-C charging. It doesn’t include a disc drive, but Redherring said he can load games onto its internal 128 GB microSD card. The designer added that he plans to build a CompactFlash for storage and—eventually—an M.2 SATA SSD.

Redherring speculated he could use the USB-C port to attach a separate controller for local multiplayer, but you’d probably end up shouldering your friend for space on the 9-inch screen.

The WiFi connection is another tricky task requiring an extra PCB, but the handheld can connect to Xbox Live with that installed. Well, it won’t connect to the original version that went offline in 2010. There’s Insignia, a project founded by a group of original Xbox fans that brings back the Live servers alongside some external leaderboards.

If anything, the Xbox Live connectivity and the promise of returning to Halo 2 console multiplayer would put me over the edge. Yes, I can get my fix with Halo: The Master Chief Collection, but for purity’s sake, there’s nothing like going back to the original. I wonder if anybody still plays ad-hoc Zombies based solely on the honor system.