No, The ROG Xbox Ally Handheld Doesn't Play Native Console Games

Uhhhh what?
So we are back at "streaming"
This is another step toward "you will own nothing and be happy"

They began good, but thats a big step back. For me this device is a hard pass.
I am curious what the price is.

Is it really a cloud only device? Does it play PC games natively?

@FraserG

Ok thank you for clarifying.

[size=400]THIS IS A NORMAL PC, JUST WITH AN XBOX SKIN SLAPPED ONTO IT.[/size]

It bothered me that whilst it doesn't play console games, the entire segment repeatedly talked about playing all your games in one place, a true "unified" library... that doesn't include the vast majority of digital Xbox games.

Oddly enough, I have seen something on the internet today were a user on the PC Xbox app, had a bug (It didn't work for me) that showed Xbox games on their account like 360 games and what not so hopefully they are rolling it out.

I can imagine that is where this discussion is stemming from but Videocardz did an article on it.

@FraserG Agreed, gotta keep the hype flowing I suppose.

@The-Chosen-one Thats not what this is at all. you can stream yes, but that's optional. you can install and play natively the xbox/pc games you own included as Play Anywhere.

@FraserG With all the support they've thrown at Play Anywhere and stream-your-game lately, it all adds up. They're clearly very invested in the future of Xbox IMO.

Furthermore, I'm right in saying that Play Anywhere supports cross-save too doesn't it? So it shouldn't make the lick of difference whether it's native PC games because you can still load up the Xbox and pick up right where you left off, no?

Or do I have that backwards?

If not, that's epic IMO.

I’ve never payed much attention to which games has the Play Anywhere feature. I’m guessing most first party titles has it, but is it also a common feature for third party games?

@FraserG Ah thanks man! See, for me, as a consumer, that wouldn't bother me that it doesn't play native Xbox games. Not if there's a lot of support for Play Anywhere and I can play the PC counterpart on handheld either way. Good to know!

@JoakimZ @FraserG Jesus! Over 1300 games support XPA? Damn... I knew there'd be a lot but I didn't know it was that many.

I LOVE the PlayAnywhere initiative, I really do. I regularly jump between my pc and series X, picking right up where I was with cross saves!

But… It sounds great with that ”over a 1000 playanywhere titles” line. But the truth is that a TON of those games are half-unknown indie games. Most third party games is not on the list.

And if you have GamePass, you already have access to these playanywhere titles, which is great ofc.

But my hope is that all the third party bangers end up there as well. Sadly it’s mostly the GamePass titles, with a few sprinkles here and there (FFXVI 2 years later etcetera..). My dream is that all games released on Steam gets released on the Xbox Store as well, complete with those sweet achievements 🥳😁

But we’re far from it at the moment 😞

A lot of Xbox Games are Play Anywhere - its the third Party Publisher support that's 'missing' - but you also have Game Pass PC so if the game is on Game Pass, you can still download and play via that too.

With 1300+ games already supporting Play Anywhere, chances are you'll have some 'Xbox' games you can download and play Natively so don't have to rely on streaming!

The fact you can stream or use it to play games on your console via streaming too, is just another option. If it feels like an Xbox Controller in your hands, can play games 'natively' at a decent quality and integrates 'well' if not 'perfectly', at least with a decent 'compromise' such as portability, open to Steam, Epic and ALL other PC games/stores so you don't have to buy from Microsoft OR limited to only the games Microsoft offer - its a Proper Windows gaming Console that's in between the Xbox Console and the full PC windows Gaming system - its 'Windows' Lite for Ultimate Gaming and 'Boots' like a Console to get you straight to the games - not Windows Desktop.

Its more a 'windows' Steamdeck Competitor too as 'Windows' is a fantastic multi-purpose OS, its not 'optimal' or Optimised Specifically for Gaming so this should help with the overheads of Windows and background tasks using valuable gaming resources when you are power starved and resource limited as a Handheld is.

It’s literally like my Legion Go then so i’m good.

But yea not sure how people misunderstood the article.

@TapeLoader depends on price and also depends on them getting an OS that can "pre-optimise" game settings. I tend to agree with you here though, this is not the mass market device that people are after at the moment

Unless they make every console game a Play Anywhere title or merge the console and PC libraries, this device is not meant for me.

Just went through the entire catalog of Play Anywhere and found a whooping number of 4 titles from my console library that are compatible.

The entire announcement reeked of deceptive advertising. Rename the PC store to Xbox. Come play your Xbox games!! Just another step in actual Xbox erasure.

Take my money yesterday 💚

"..not native console games."

Dafuq does that mean? What xbox console games aren't available on pc/steam? This article is confusing and not needed.

The rog xbox ally is a handheld gaming pc. Just like a regular rog ally, legion go, steam deck. You can download pc/steam games NATIVELY and play them without worry of "streaming only."

Xbox is selling skateboards with buttons and screens on them. Thing is comically huge, very Microsoft hardware looking behemoth. Hope it's better than the ROG Ally Z1 Xtreme because that turned me off completely from PC handhelds for a while. The marketing jargon about jumping into "the Xbox experience" and beating around the bush wasn't appreciated, I just wanted to know if I can play all my console games on that thing. I'm sure it will get there if MSFT can amend their future game contracts with devs. Won't pass judgment quite yet, want to see how it does in the wild. Need a backpack to carry this bad boy.

No Xbox 360 games, no dice.

It's a pass from me then ...if I hadn't bought a laptop at start of the year then maybe I would have....

But for me to buy this it would need to be a proper Xbox handheld

P.s yesterday is going to fool alot of people....my missus and one of my kids was like omg it's an Xbox handheld I want one...and I was like erghhh I need to explain it's not quite as black and white as that

Oh, btw. Completely off topic. But I was really BUMMED they didn’t show any new controllers. Apparently, as we know, they’re working on at least a new Elite controller. I was REALLY hoping to see something. But nope..

The current controllers’ longevity is a JOKE, as most of us know. The Elite 1’s and 2’s/Core are not worth the price. But when there’s no better alternative….

The standard controllers are also crap in the longevity department. The only one’s that are worse are the Switch 1 joy-cons (the Joy-con 2’s seem a bit better).

We need new controllers MS! With better QC and build quality, please.

@FraserG for newer games it makes no real difference it being a PC over a console but for me personally, if it had been a true Xbox handheld that could play 360 and og Xbox games I'd be very tempted, as a PC I just don't care as I wouldn't ever use it over my actual PC.

@deadmaker exactly, out of around 120 or so digital games that I own on Xbox, 13 show up on PC as play anywhere, with even games from studios Xbox have bought still not available to me

Not yet. We know the rumours are that they’re working behind the scenes to make this a non-issue on the XSX successor. That will be essentially what this handheld is, except also able to play my entire back catalogue of Xbox games. I’m a believer now, I think the evidence to support all the rumours floating around is simply getting too strong to ignore. It’s happening. Xbox is transitioning from a console brand to a PC brand.

I liked the emphasis on Play Anywhere in this showcase. Support has been very lacklustre up until now, but if Microsoft are putting more effort into convincing more publishers to jump on board then that can only be a good thing.

Lol. If Xbox fans and gaming enthusiasts (what I assume after reading the comment section) who follow the latest news, are confused on what this device / platform actually is, it stands zero chance of being successful on the general market (especially if it’s more expensive than what the competition offers). Meanwhile Sony and Nintendo just slap another number on their next consoles.

As cool as the Xbox Ally is I'm going to be skipping it in favor of waiting for the Microsoft developed Xbox handheld console. I'm guessing the dedicated Xbox handheld CONSOLE is being delayed and will release next gen. I think the Xbox handheld will probably replace the Series S sku as an entry level next gen Xbox that plays all Xbox games and can be docked to play on the TV.

I think it was smart of Xbox to do this collaboration because it'll be great for the PC handheld crowd but not for console gamers like myself. I do believe we will get a dedicated handheld Xbox because from everything we know based on AMD and Microsoft leaks that's what's being made.

It also just leaked PlayStation is doing the same thing. PlayStation is also developing a dedicated PlayStation Portable capable of playing PS4 and PS5 games natively. The fact both manufacturers are planning on releasing handhelds it leads me to believe next gen consoles will have handhelds as part of their ecosystem.

Microsoft is working with AMD on next gen APUs that will power their Xbox handheld console. It'll be capable of running out entire Xbox libraries natively while also sipping power thanks to architecture improvements coming with Zen 6 CPU cores and RDNA 5 graphics, combined with XDNA dedicated NPUs handling AI upscaling techniques like FSR 4 and frame generation to help take some weight off the CPU and GPU loads.

I'm definitely excited for next gen and more than anything I want a dedicated Xbox handheld. The Xbox Ally is cool but will cost way too much and windows takes up way too many resources. A handheld Xbox console would most likely be subsidized just like every other console ever made which would allow such a thing to launch at $500 or less. I'm suspecting the Xbox Ally X will cost $799 while the less powerful Xbox Ally will cost $599 which is just too niche for a massive market device.

I've got some amazing Xbox games coming this year and next year to look forward to lol happy gaming ✌️

So what exactly is the Xbox ROG Ally when it's literally just a normal ROG Ally with an Xbox logo? Is this like the Xbox Quest 3 that's just a Quest 3 with an Xbox logo?

I'm not disappointed, I just don't get how it's any different than buying a non Xbox one.

I have a few questions as I have never owned a handheld pc.
So will it be pc gamepass as opposed to Xbox gamepass?
Will you be able to playstation games via other store fronts?
Does it hook up to tv /monitor, and if so, what will the resolution be?
How does the power of this machine compare to Xbox series consoles?

Thanks Fraser.
It's looking good so far. Just waiting on the price now.

@themightyant
Thank you. Very helpful.
Waiting on the price now.

Yea I'm hoping for between £500 -£600 for the base model.
If that's the case then I'm pretty much sold.
Apart from the nintendo exclusives it's making switch 2 looking a little out date already. Does anyone else think this could do well for Xbox in Japan?

Game informer says you can launch steam games directly from the Xbox game bar.

I always thought microsoft should be the one to try the all in one launcher for pc.

@themightyant Yeah, but that's not really something that needs special hardware to fix, or needs Asus at all, that's a Windows gaming UI mode that would work on any PC including the existing Ally, and I'm certain that whatever gaming UI is on here will be standard Windows and available everywhere. It would be weird if MS introduced an Xbox "app" Windows UI mode for gaming and locked it only to one single piece of hardware. It would basically be Microsoft Playtnite (Oh gawd please don't buy Playnite, Phil!)

A built in friendly "launcher" is a must, and Phil said/hinted it a year or more ago when talking handheld, but assuming that's a standard Windows feature (and it would be madness if it weren't), it still doesn't explain what's special about this hardware? When we heard of an Xbox handheld we were thinking it's unique feature would be the BC to play your whole console library, meaning games that aren't Play Anywhere and on the PC store. But now that it's here, it's really just an existing 3rd party PC model that says Xbox on it. From what they showed, it seems like it's just a co-brand and not unique hardware. Not that it's not great hardware. It just seems like if they send me a free "This is an Xbox" sticker to put on my existing Z1 Ally, it's the same thing but with a faster chip (kind of like what Switch 2 is.....(too soon?))

Already having an Ally (non-Extreme) Z1, and a Legion (Extreme) Z1, I'm looking at this thinking "how is this different than a non-Xbox branded Z2 upgrade"? I would have said cheaper/subsidized/locked into the MS interface, but since the announcement promotes its Windows-ness "freedom" (lol) and all the stores, I don't think it's that either.

It may have a unique component that makes it special as an Xbox, but if it does, I think they forgot to tell us like Iwata presenting WiiU forgetting to show the console. Or there actually isn't one.

It's kind of funny to me especially because a year ago I debated if I should just jump to handheld PCs or wait for the Xbox handheld, and was going to be looking over my shoulder at whatever the Xbox one was like when it came out, and I bought my Ally, only to get to this year and they announce they Xbox handheld and say "surprise! It's just the Ally!"

@themightyant lol seriously. If the Xbox handheld is an off the shelf Asus PC with some logos, I'm sure the next home console will be an Alienware PC with Satya's head as the glowing alien jewel.

This whole announcement is so weird. It first I was like "oh cool, is an Asus PC collab, Xbox x PC is really happening" and then I realized, it's literally just the off the shelf Ally 2 exactly as it would have been without the Xbox logo and does nothing different from the regular model and plays only PC games... Just like the regular model.... So what exactly does it have to do with Xbox?

The thinking around this "Xbox Handheld" is entirely console centric, which misses the point and that's entirely a failing of Microsoft marketing (but I also don't super know how they could prevent these comparisons).

Windows gaming is bigger than Xbox but not just that, windows is a bigger gaming platform than Nintendo and Playstation. It is more comparable to all three console platforms combined. That is not an exaggeration. Despite that fact, Microsoft has mistrsared PC gamers for decades. They've been sitting very comfortably on a throne that they just kinda stumbled upon due to so many decades of windows compatibility. Even now they only still hold the throne because windows is the only place everything works. Finally they are doing what gamers have asked them to do for eons and it's entirely because there's some real competition to Windows' dominance in the PC gaming market.

This isn't Microsoft's answer to the Nintendo Switch or even the Steam Deck, this is Microsoft's answer to SteamOS specifically. The hardware isn't Xbox hardware, it's ASUS hardware with an Xbox sticker. All of the real Xbox work is done on the software side through collaboration between the Xbox and Windows teams. Think of this more in terms of Windows on ARM and Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft has partnered with OEMs to show off the work they've done to improve windows in gaming (specifically with ASUS) and they are using a fancy albeit misleading name to get people interested. However, once they've started the work to ensure compatibility across windows devices (and that does take a long time (and often they still don't hit all the issues just because of how many different devices and software windows 11 supports)) they'll roll it out across the board.

I don't know how Microsoft can solve the branding issue, because they are doing the right thing. They're finally acting like a company that has these teams in house. The Xbox team SHOULD be working closely with the windows team to bring an Xbox like gaming experience to windows. Microsoft should unify it's gaming ecosystem under Xbox. Xbox PC is fantastic branding. Simple and very clear. I love that we have that now instead of the vague windows logo that sometimes appeared. That said we've had decades of Microsoft meandering with no clear gaming branding on Windows and Xbox solely existing as the home console. It is expected that people will only think of Xbox in terms of the console, and Microsoft is doing a poor job of transitioning general thought in that area. Ultimately, I think time will do a far better job than Microsoft is. Once this device actually releases and once all gaming devices start being able to have that "Xbox experience" update and once cloud takes off more and so on and so forth. Xbox will eventually become more synonymous with the entire first party ecosystem and that's a good thing. I feel like it's easily forgotten how this has benefited console gamers. Take for example Age of Empire and MS Flight Simulator. For ages, those have been first party games under Microsoft (and sometimes Xbox leadership) that were completely absent from Xbox consoles. Sometimes console gamers benefit and sometimes PC gamers benefit, but overall the Xbox ecosystem is better off unifying all gaming efforts at Microsoft under the Xbox banner.

I'll also say don't knock Xbox Play Anywhere. It is a shame that we don't have a full Xbox console handheld, but that was NEVER coming in 2025. There's a lot more work that goes into that than just calling up ASUS and asking to collab. And Xbox Play Anywhere is an insane offering on its own that is nonexistent on other platforms. Let's take a minute to look at Playstation. Sony similarly wants a handheld and so do their gamers and they want one that unlike the vita plays full modern PS games with cross saves, but they'll have to wait for the propetiary hardware. The most they can do now is a streaming only device. Xbox gamers are a similar situation, but also one where because of Xbox Play Anywhere there are some (yes, only some but it's still significant) games that can be played on handhelds right now with cross save compatibility. Xbox Play Anywhere is also growing with every first party Xbox game releasing having it (including new Bethesda and ABK games) and more and more third parties. The showcase even made a point that every single game there will be Xbox Play Anywhere. That's significant when it includes Final Fantasy, Gamefreak's upcoming game, Persona, and so much more. Even games like the Space Marine 1 remaster are Xbox Play Anywhere at launch. It's not your full Xbox library, but it's also not just "something". It's a pretty big deal when this doesn't exist elsewhere. Even the actual handheld king Nintendo doesn't remotely have a similar feature. Backwards compatibility was a tossup for the Switch 2 until launch. The idea of buying a game on your switch and being able to jump between PC and the Switch would blow people's minds. Xbox does it and it's always "not enough". Your entire xbox library will never be play anywhere just like your entire Xbox library isn't available on the Series consoles due to backwards compatibility limitations. But Play Anywhere is still huge. My issue with the feature has always been marketing, but they've clearly taken that to heart. Arguably play anywhere was a bigger part of the showcase than game pass was.

Consoles are largely a mature product. Xbox should always strive to improve the console as they can and they say they want to win on differentiation, so we'll see. But really they just need to release a next Box that's "better". Like there's no reinventing the wheel anymore on the hardware side. Beef up the internals and that's it. I also don't think they'll ever get rid of the Xbox console because it's such a mature product that pulls in a good amount of money consistently. But gaming on windows is very much NOT mature. It's a mess. And yet there's so much opportunity there for Microsoft. There's also opportunity there for boost Xbox as an ecosystem and increasing the value of the console. Xbox Play Anywhere is a huge part of that. Microsoft doesn't need to do much to unify Xbox and PC, just literally this. Sell an Xbox that's entirely an Xbox experience and as a result cheaper than PCs, have an "Xbox Experience" mode for windows to meet all gaming needs including across different storefronts, and push Xbox Play Anywhere so that gamers in the Xbox ecosystem have an increasing amount of games that follow them on both platforms. They've had the winning strategy for decades; I just wish it didn't take them decades to try it.

@themightyant Yeah it's awkward because they're promoting the software like it's special to this hardware but that wouldn't make sense at all, not only just for handheld but for Windows gaming across the board. Which of course is a big windows tentpole. So of course it'll be standard windows features from old Ally to 9950x3d xx90 rigs. If it's not that's just bizarre levels of fail. Even for Microsoft 😛

So I'm assuming all those windows features are universal windows 11. MS could surprise me and bite off their own toes in broad daylight of course.

And I'm sure the AI capability is just from the upgraded SoC. Maybe MS special version added an NPU but I doubt it, the NPU thing hasn't really taken off and this is based around a strong GPU, so I'd be pretty surprised if the wasn't the same on all Z2s, again unless MS specced a separate NPU which isn't impossible because MS had been pushing heavily on that in laptops.

These all seem to be things they've been pushing on the windows side in general and I can't imagine them not standardizing it in PC.

The problem with all that AI/ML push though is how few devs can afford to abandon older hardware any time in the near future. Though on desktop any relevant RTX should be more than capable. (Except for 5050 lol....too soon?)

Definitely nice machine but the messaging is just weird. I'm picturing Phil in an apple store applying Xbox stickers to an iPhone and declaring it the new Xbox iPhone.