Xbox’s handhelds have a confirmed release date, and yes, it’s the one that leaked. As for how much the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X will cost you, Microsoft aren’t sharing a price yet, because there are some macroeconomics to take into account, don’t you know.
The pair of Asus devices souped up with some extra Xboxiness to fit the company with all the green branding will release on October 16th. As I said, no price or pre-orders as of yet, with Asus senior vice president Shawn Yen having offered the following explanation to IGN as to why that’s the case:
I think we will have to… we need more time to figure the macroeconomic impact to pricing, and that’s why we’ll be sharing more later, in September and October.
Odds are that’s exec speak for something along the lines of ‘We’d like to see how things play out a bit more with these US tariffs, if you please’. Dealabs, whose reliable leaker Billbil-kun was behind the early sharing of the handhelds’ release date, report that the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X’s US prices could be $549.99 and $899.99 respectively. We’ll just have to see if that’s accurate, and what it equates to in sadness island pounds and pence.
Xbox also revealed a Handheld Compatibility Program, that’ll let you look for the “Handheld Optimized” or “Mostly Compatible” badges on games in your library to see what should work on your Xbox Ally, much like you’d check for Steam Deck verification. There’ll also be a “Windows Performance Fit indicator” that’ll “reflect expected performance” on your hardware.
Odds are our James will have plenty to say about both when they debut, which’ll amount to far more than my expert analysis that them be some cheeky little thumbsticks. I can’t see myself investing in one over a Steam Deck whenever I inevitably decide a handheld’s a thing I need more than life itself, as Phil Spencer has over the past couple of years.
I’ll run out the clock here by flagging that there have been protests going on this week at a Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington campus. Staff continue to voice their opposition to the company’s business relationship with Israel’s armed forces amid the on-going assault on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Read Edwin’s full write-up here.