When ASUS and Microsoft unveiled the ROG Xbox Ally X, few could have predicted the whirlwind that would follow. Released on October 16, 2025, this handheld gaming PC—priced at a steep $999—flew off digital shelves at both Microsoft and ASUS’s official stores, leaving eager gamers scrambling to secure one. According to PCGuide, the only major retailer with units left in stock was Best Buy, while the cheaper, less powerful Xbox Ally ($599) remained widely available. But what’s driving this frenzy for a device that, by all accounts, is as polarizing as it is powerful?
The Xbox Ally X is the result of a close collaboration between ASUS’s Republic of Gamers (ROG) division and Microsoft, and it arrives at a pivotal moment for the Xbox brand. As reported by NPR, Xbox’s latest console generation has struggled to keep pace with the PlayStation 5, and Microsoft’s recent moves—like hiking the price of its flagship Game Pass subscription to $30 a month—have left many longtime fans disgruntled. The company’s new “This is an Xbox” campaign, which reimagines everything from smartphones to laptops as potential Xbox platforms, has only added to the sense that the brand is in the midst of an identity crisis.
Yet, for all this turbulence, the ROG Xbox Ally X has managed to capture the imagination of tech enthusiasts and gamers alike. Reviews that went live in the days before launch, as highlighted by PCGuide, suggested that the flagship model would outshine its non-X sibling in terms of performance and features, even if it couldn’t quite match the value proposition of competitors like Valve’s Steam Deck. The demand was immediate and intense, with the Ally X selling out almost instantly at official storefronts.
What makes the Ally X stand out? For starters, it’s packed with new hardware, including AMD’s Ryzen Z2 chip, and boasts a design that’s unmistakably Xbox, right down to its controller-style grips. ASUS has also bundled three months of Game Pass Premium with every purchase—a tempting offer, especially before the recent price hike. The device runs a custom “Xbox full screen experience,” which, as PCGuide explains, lets users seamlessly toggle between a console-like interface and a traditional Windows desktop. This feature, exclusive to the Xbox handhelds for now, frees up system resources for gaming and mimics the dual-mode approach popularized by the Steam Deck.
Despite these innovations, the Ally X is not without its flaws. NPR’s hands-on review paints a picture of a device that’s both exciting and exasperating. Out of the box, users are greeted by a “Full Screen Experience” that puts their most recently played games front and center. Pressing the prominent Xbox button swaps between apps, settings, or the standard Windows interface. But the review notes that initial setup was far from smooth—multiple updates and restarts were required before the reviewer could even log into their Xbox account. And once inside, the limitations became clear: most Xbox games had to be streamed over WiFi from an Xbox Series S console, rather than played natively on the device itself. In that sense, the Ally X feels less like a true portable console and more like Sony’s PlayStation Portal, which also relies on streaming.
Still, when it comes to PC gaming, the Ally X shines. According to NPR, demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Silent Hill f ran better on the Ally X than on the Steam Deck, a testament to its beefy internals. The device’s large battery and chunky controller grips contribute to its considerable heft—making it thicker and heavier than both the Steam Deck and Nintendo’s Switch 2—but they also ensure longer play sessions and a comfortable, if somewhat awkward, grip for extended use. As NPR’s reviewer put it, “You’ll feel the heft of all that power—literally.”
For all its technical prowess, the Ally X isn’t the pick-up-and-play portable many were hoping for. Unlike the Switch or Steam Deck, it doesn’t reliably support quick sleep-and-resume functionality, making it less suited for short, spontaneous gaming bursts. And at $999, it’s a serious investment—especially in a market where the value-conscious Steam Deck and the more affordable Xbox Ally are both vying for attention.
Yet, the scarcity of the Ally X has only fueled its mystique. PCGuide speculates that limited stock levels, rather than sheer popularity, may be partly to blame for the rapid sellout. Amazon, for instance, didn’t have the flagship model in stock at all, and even the non-X version was temporarily unavailable. For those determined to get their hands on the latest Xbox handheld, Best Buy became the retailer of last resort.
There’s also the question of Microsoft’s broader strategy. By pushing the Xbox brand onto a diverse array of devices and raising the price of Game Pass, the company risks alienating its core audience even as it seeks to attract new users. NPR notes that the Game Pass price hike prompted a rush of cancellations, with fans crashing Microsoft’s membership site in protest. The Ally X, while bundled with a three-month trial of the premium service, now looks less cost-effective than it did just a month ago.
Nevertheless, the device’s exclusive features—like the Xbox full screen experience, which splits the system into ‘Xbox mode’ and ‘Desktop mode’—offer a glimpse of what the future of portable gaming could look like. Windows Insiders can already download an early version of this interface, though for now, it remains a selling point unique to the Ally X and its sibling.
In the end, the ROG Xbox Ally X feels like a product caught between worlds. It’s a technological marvel with undeniable appeal for tech enthusiasts and early adopters, but it’s also a reflection of a brand in transition. As NPR’s reviewer put it, “Tech nerds with money to burn will still find plenty to like, but they alone won’t save the Xbox brand, nor will they likely herald a new era of handheld gaming.”
For now, the Ally X stands as a symbol of both the promise and the pitfalls of Microsoft’s evolving gaming strategy—a device that’s as much about what the future might hold as it is about the present moment. Whether it marks the beginning of a new chapter or just another intriguing detour remains to be seen.
