It’s Gamescom week, which means it’s time for lots of gaming news, but also in 2025, it’s time for hardware news, specifically theROG Xbox Ally.
An Xbox handheld device was a long time coming, with countless rumors and speculation leading up to the device’sreveal earlier this year.
We also got a release date:the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X will be released worldwide on October 16th.
There’s still no official price tag, though, but rumor has it that itwon’t come cheap.
One neat thing is how Xbox was able to collaborate with Windows to make sure as much memory as possible on the machine is dedicated to your gaming. This means that any task or process not vital for gaming, such as the taskbar or desktop, isn’t loaded when you’re using the ROG Xbox Ally in a full-screen experience.
The Xbox app on the Ally will also find your favorite games from other stores, such as Battle.net,Steam, and others, and let you play them on your Xbox Ally.
ROG Xbox Ally, Ally X Will Run At 720p, 30 FPS/1080p, 60 FPS Respectively
“My most recently used game should be something that sticks with me everywhere I go, creating a unified user experience,” saidPhil Spencer, Head of Xbox. “I’m able to continue to experience the world and characters that I love anywhere that I play. Now we literally have a device that could go with you everywhere.”
In terms of performance, the Xbox Ally targets 720p, while the Xbox Ally X targets 1080p. Most games will hit between 30 and 60 FPS, with some even reaching 120 FPS.
Players will be able to additionally fine-tune their own settings, such as battery life and button mapping. The Ally X also comes with a turbo mode to get the best performance when available.
“When we talk about optimizing for handheld, it’s less about stripping games down and more about ensuring playing a game on a handheld is as easy and effortless as possible,” said Nicole Allen of Xbox about ensuringXbox gamesrun well on the Xbox Ally.
She also explained the parameters Xbox is using to let people know how well their games will run on the Xbox Ally, and it’s similar to the Steam Deck Verification system:
Being able to have a dedicated handheld Xbox machine will be a very welcome addition, but with it beingmore expensive than a Nintendo Switch 2, something I cannot put down no matter what game I’m playing (evenMadden, ugh), it’s going to be a tough sell for some people.
