New 'Handheld' Gaming PC Is So Big You Could Kill Someone With It

Computer maker Acer is one of the few PC tech companies that hasn’t released a Steam Deck-like handheld gaming device. That changes later this year when it releases not one but three different portable PC devices, one of which is so big that it almost looks like a joke and really begs the question if it’s even a handheld device anymore.

Announced at CES 2025, Acer’s Nitro Blaze 11 features an 11-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 IPS display with a 120Hz refresh. So how did Acer fit such a relatively large screen, compared to most portable devices, in the Nitro Blaze 11 while still making sure its a handheld device you can carry around easily? Well, they didn’t. Look at this image of an adult male human holding this thing and tell me its portable.

Image: Acer / Kotaku

This isn’t an image I created as a goof. This is a real image from Acer and it makes me laugh every single time I look at it. Sure, the Nitro Blaze 11 has two USB-C ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB- A port (nice!), and a microSD card slot. It also includes solid internal specs with an AMD Ryzen 7 8840 chip, Radeon 780M graphics, 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD storage.

But come on, look at that image above. This might be a powerful gaming device, but it’s not portable. I mean, I guess if your definition of portable is simply “You can technically carry it around by yourself,” then sure, the Nitro Blaze 11 counts as a portable PC. Still, I’m not sold on the idea that many people will want a Steam Deck-like device that’s bigger than a cat. It goes against one of the biggest selling points with these things: You can take them anywhere and play all your games easily.

Acer seems to understand that this is probably not a product for everyone and will also offer smaller, more Steam Deck-sized portable PCs. The Nitro Blaze 8 features similar specs but with an 8-inch screen and will be priced at $900. A slightly smaller and less powerful Blaze 7 will also be available later this year for $800.

And for those of you out there who want to lug around a desktop PC crammed into a medium-sized container, the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 and its comically massive screen will be available for $1,100. At that point, you might just want to buy an actual gaming laptop.

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