Xbox to launch ROG Xbox Ally handhelds on October 16: Here’s everything you need to know

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At the Gamescom event in Germany, Xbox confirmed it will launch ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally handhelds on October 16, 2025. At the event, compatibility to games that could be optimised for the device was also announced.

Deallabs reports indicated the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X will be priced at $549 and $899, respectively, in the United States. However, citing “marco-economic conditions,” Microsoft did not reveal prices for the devices at the event.

Specs

The black ROG Xbox Ally X is intended for 1080p gaming, while the white Xbox Ally is made for 720p gaming. These models use the same 7-inch 1080p screen as the previous Asus’s ROG Ally and Ally X, which have a refresh rate of 120 Hz and also support VRR.

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The Xbox Ally features an AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor, 16GB of LPDDR5X-6400 RAM, and 512GB of M.2 2280 SSD storage. The Xbox Ally X, on the other hand, features AMD’s Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, 1TB SSD, and 24GB RAM.

Compatibility

Handheld Optimised and Mostly Compatible are the two types of handheld compatibility that will be available.

“We have worked with game studios to test, optimise, and verify thousands of games for handheld compatibility, allowing users to jump into the game without having to tweak settings or requiring only minor adjustments,” said Roanne Sones, CVP of gaming devices and ecosystem at Xbox.

The majority of compatible games “may require minor in-game setting changes for an optimal experience on handheld,” while handheld-optimised games will have accurate icons, default controller inputs, and the correct screen resolution in full-screen mode.

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To give users the advantage of knowing whether a game is compatible and how well it will play, Microsoft will also designate titles with a Windows Performance Fit indicator. The Xbox full-screen experience, which Microsoft has been working on to enhance Windows on portable devices, will be included with both the devices. With the Windows desktop hidden away but still reachable via an option in the Xbox Game Bar UI, this will boot by default.

There will shortly be more enhancements made to the Xbox Ally devices’ docking experience. “A seamless, high-performance setup that supports big-screen gaming, Auto SR, intuitive controller pairing, optimised display output, and more” is what Microsoft is aiming to do, Soanes said.