Xbox’s new handheld consoles will arrive in two months.
Xbox’s ongoing Gamescom livestream has confirmed a release date for its upcoming handheld gaming consoles. The ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X will launch simultaneously on 16 October, 2025. However, neither device has confirmed a price point, which IGN reports is due to Xbox needing “more time to figure out the macro-economic impact to pricing.”
Here’s a new look at the devices:
ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X release date confirmed
ASUS and Xbox are finally ready to pull the lid off their upcoming handheld gaming devices. The ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X allow players to play video games on the go via Xbox, Battle.net, and more PC gaming storefronts. Yes, that includes Steam.
The handheld consoles are launching on 16 October, 2025, in most regions worldwide, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and more. The device will launch at a later date in Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Thailand, however. In China, only the Xbox Ally X will be available at launch.
On top of the release date confirmation, Xbox also unveiled a new feature coming to the Xbox Ally handhelds: the Handheld Compatibility Program. This is essentially the same as Steam Deck’s verified feature, allowing players to discover how well specific games are supported on the Xbox Ally devices at a glance.
To accomplish this, the Xbox Ally devices will slap “Handheld Optimised” and “Mostly Compatible” badges on games in the player’s library. Here’s what those labels mean:
Handheld Optimised: This indicates games that are ready to go–with default controller inputs, an intuitive text input method, accurate iconography, clear text legibility, and appropriate resolution in full-screen mode–so you can spend less time adjusting settings, and more time defeating that next big boss.
Mostly Compatible: This indicates games that may require minor in-game setting changes for an optimal experience on handheld.
Additionally, some games will include Windows Performance Fit indicators to show players how well they perform on the Xbox Ally devices. Xbox is also looking into new features for the devices, including advanced shader delivery, which pre-loads game shaders during downloads to let them launch faster and run more smoothly.
The ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X launch on 16 October, 2025.
