ROG Xbox Ally Pre-Orders Will Reportedly Go Live Next Month Ahead Of 2025 Launch

I was pretty interested in an Xbox handheld but with the expected prices I'm definitely not going to be getting one.

I guess it's only a matter of time until that new Xbox-centric Windows 11 version is available for everyone, then you can probably install it on any Windows 11 gaming handheld device.

You can buy the regular Asus ROG Ally handhelds for much cheaper.

They still need to raise the stakes for me to be interested in this machine.

I'm particularly interested in how other stores will be integrated into Xbox and the new dashboard. If they simply go their separate ways, without unifying achievements and libraries in some way, then I'm not interested in this machine.

This or 2 Switch 2s?

@Gabrie You want all the stores to have unified achievements? That is of course possible, but a lot of unnecessary coordination. Steam store has their own achievements. I don't play enough games or frequently enough on Epic or GoG to know/remember if they support any form of achievements. UPlay/UbiConnect has something similar. I'm not sure about EA Play.

@theduckofdeath Yes, Epic, Ubisoft, and maybe some of the other stores, have their own achievement system, although honestly, I think hardly anyone cares about them, really the interesting one here is Steam.

I think that if you call a device “Xbox”, the minimum it should comply is that it uses Xbox features, and one of the most basic is the Xbox achievement system.

For me it is important that they take care of these details when opening the platform so that it does not lose its identity, especially considering that the Windows Store is not very popular and misses many releases.

@Gabrie Xbox is sort of integrated with PC store already, the achievements on play anywhere titles are the same. But yeah I get you, you want basically a unified interface so they both act identically. I'll be honest, it's not miles off now from my experience

Do they still do lay-away? Lol.

Exterior store & platform integration is cool (GoG has been doing it for a while). The Windows Xbox app is using the list icons instead of larger tile icons, so they're blown up and as a result, blurry. A cosmetic flaw, but MS needs to fix that soon, regardless.

@Gabrie Well, the Xbox games (Windows and console) have unified an achievement system. There are a few instances where you could double dip, otherwise, you can trip an achievement from console or app.

As far as the exterior stores, isn't the major plus found in having access to them? The implication being that following this handheld effort, legacy Xbox console games may come to PC and these outside stores may come to the console? Linking outside achievements to the Xbox system seems trivial in comparison.

@theduckofdeath Yes, I'm quite happy with the work they've done unifying achievements on Xbox and Xbox PC.

The problem is that Xbox and its features are limited to games from the Windows Store, and this store, frankly, is a disaster. Many games never arrive or do so very late.

They have to fix this. If they can't get developers to stop ignoring Xbox, developers who release their games on Steam or PlayStation without any problems, the future is complicated for the platform.

If we end up buying a device called Xbox only to end up playing with a Steam profile and Steam achievements because the games don't come anywhere else, then Xbox will be dead, except that they deceive us with the white lie of continuing to call the PC they sell us to play games “Xbox.”

I understand that for many people the achievement system is trivial, but for me, it's one of the things I like most about Xbox, and the idea of having an online profile with a score is one of the best things Microsoft has done in the industry.

I'm interested - but only because I find the OG RoG Ally somewhat uncomfortable to use with its much smaller and thinner profile so I'm very interested in something that feels more like an Xbox Controller with a Screen.

I know its still a PC and 'not' an Xbox handheld that will integrate 'perfectly' with my entire Xbox digital library (being all-digital) but Xbox is NOT just the Console - its their PC gaming platform too and Game Pass/Play Anywhere gives me a LOT of the Games I currently play and/or want to play on Xbox in the future - they are mostly Xbox Game Pass or Play Anywhere games anyway. There are so many games available to play on a RoG Ally that aren't on Xbox, its also a great way to play something different or something you only play on handhelds...

This is beyond Xbox gamers and between PC players, let's see who swoops this up aside from influencers

@Gabrie I wouldn't buy into the rhetoric. The internet has no shortage of negative Nancys, opportunists, and the fearful attempting to disparage Xbox. MS has a vested interest in their own stores and their own platform & services. There is a clear, daily profit motive for many, whether they are PS sites & channels or claim to be Xbox-focused.

I can't wait! All those people crying about the price either never really wanted one and looking for an excuse to downgrade the product or they have no idea about the hardware prices today. It's literally a new improved product at the same price as the older one.

@Millionski From what I understand, this new "Xbox mode" in Windows 11 will be some full screen mode like in Steam and frees up system resources, but you can switch to the standard Windows desktop if you want to.