New Xbox gaming handhelds unveiled 6/08/2025.....

[PC Engine Fan X!]

At the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 event held earlier today on 6/08/2025, it was revealed the new Xbox gaming handhelds are none other than the "ROG Xbox Ally" and the "ROG Xbox Ally X" manufactured by Asus themselves running Windows 11 OS albeit with Xbox styling through and through. Pricing wasn't disclosed and they'll be available in certain select markets including the USA and the UK (in time for the proposed upcoming 2025 Christmas shopping season to purchase one -- it'll be slim pickings to get one at retail or through the Microsoft Store front). I already have a 1st-gen Steam Deck which is quite robust enough.

Here's a link with IGN talking in more depth about both ROG Xbox Ally & ROG Xbox Ally X packed with some serious "cutting edge" tech as far as the latest PC gaming handhelds are made nowadays between the fierce and cutthroat competition of Valve (with it's Steam Deck being the baseline setup), Asus, MSI, Lenovo (with it's Legion Go handheld) and a few others:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... 1032&ei=46

There's speculation that the ROG Xbox Ally could be priced between $600 to $650 and about $800 for the ROG Xbox Ally X according to IGN themselves. We'll see when Microsoft announces the MSRPs of them both down the road later this year.

This "IGN Tech" link talks about the hardware of the Steam Deck Vs. ROG Xbox Ally X:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... 46#image=7

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Stuararton]

Whoa, thanks for the detailed breakdown, PC Engine Fan X Doodle Jump!

[Josh128]

They definitely need a small-light / non-Windows OS to get the performance out of them. Steam Deck punches above its hardware weight due to SteamOS and no Windows bloat.

[spmbx]

So basically just a ROG Ally (x) with a different skin?

[Josh128]

So basically just a ROG Ally (x) with a different skin?

ROG Ally uses Windows, doesnt it? Xbox should use its own thin/light OS, not Windoze.

[Johnpv]

I'm pretty sure it's been confirmed that this is using a version of Windows 11 with some modifications done to try and slim down the bloat.

[TransatlanticFoe]

It's still full Windows 11, it's that by default it'll boot into a fullscreen version of the Xbox app which disables non-essential Windows components:

https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/x ... ly-is-a-pc

Fundamentally it's the Asus ROG Ally range with a CPU update. The basic model gets a bit more battery but otherwise it's a minor change - and the optimised Xbox app will be made available to the older devices later on too.

[Guspaz]

It also doesn't directly play any xbox games. You can play PC ports of xbox games, and you can stream xbox games, but you can't play real xbox games.

There are rumours, though, that OG xbox and 360 games will come to Windows, which will allow this thing to play some xbox games, but nothing from the last two generations.

[orange808]

It also doesn't directly play any xbox games. You can play PC ports of xbox games, and you can stream xbox games, but you can't play real xbox games.

There are rumours, though, that OG xbox and 360 games will come to Windows, which will allow this thing to play some xbox games, but nothing from the last two generations.

I suppose Microsoft could do some quick and dirty ports of individual games using their copilot tech for a fast cash grab? But I can't see a full official "Legacy Xbox to Windows 11/DirectX 12" layer coming around anytime soon.

Not because it's a huge job that can't be done. It's because there's no big profits in it. It's not worth the effort.

[Guspaz]

If they're trying to get completely out of the console business and move to a Windows-only approach, which is what they seem to be doing (with xbox-branded and customized PC devices), then bringing forward some sort of compatibility from their various console generations may be more about supporting that transition (and creating a sense of continuity) than direct financial benefit. If they did do it, I would expect it to take the form of a secured VM, rather than a compatibility layer.

However, the leak/rumour that was the source of this also claimed that the Xenia team was involved in Microsoft's effort for this, and the Xenia team has debunked this. And, really, even if Microsoft was working on something like this, there'd be very little reason to involve an outside group like that, Microsoft already fully developed OG XBOX and 360 emulators in-house, which they'd probably use as a base for any new work.