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With hardware announcements scarce, the attention of most Gamescom attendees and viewers online has been firmly on software. And boy, are there some fantastic games on the horizon. In just six hours on the show floor in Cologne, I saw enough enticing titles to fill up my gaming schedule well beyond 2027.
But what will I primarily be playing them on? Based on the brief time I spent with the new ROG Xbox Ally consoles, it could well be the ROG Xbox Ally X.
While I regularly play PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S while hooked up to a 4K TV, I’ve increasingly incorporated handhelds into my gaming routine since testing the original Asus ROG Ally in 2023. I’ve clocked up hundreds of hours on it and its successor, the Ally X, and am super-hyped about the upgraded Xbox versions hitting shelves on 16 October.
For many people, the big draw will be the integrated Xbox ecosystem, which has been optimised for handheld use. It should immediately feel familiar to anyone who has used an Xbox Series S or Series X, but menus, prompts and UI elements have been tweaked to fit the Ally’s 7in display.
There’s an Xbox button providing direct access to the Game Bar, which again, will feel like comfortable territory for those transitioning from the Series S or Series X.
Xbox is naturally front and centre, but you’ll still be able to access other storefronts, including Steam, EA, Ubisoft Connect and more, and integrate games from those platforms into your Xbox Ally game library. You’ll still be able to access Asus’ Armoury Crate SE customisation software, too.
Frustratingly, I didn’t get the chance to properly explore any of this on the black ROG Xbox Ally X or white ROG Xbox Ally at Gamescom. With my time at the show extremely limited, and queues for Microsoft’s booth prohibitively long, I had to get to grips with the handheld consoles at Asus’ stand instead. This meant undisturbed gaming time, but on consoles that were heavily restricted in terms of what I could do on them. The Xbox button was effectively disabled, and I was unable to access Armoury Crate or any of the other settings for the device.
What I’ve heard from others who got a fuller ROG Xbox Ally experience at Gamescom, however, suggests that the Xbox interface has been converted very smartly to the handheld format. And judging by videos I’ve watched of the platform in action, that certainly seems to be the case. I’m optimistic that the consoles will get very close to creating a full-blown console or PC gaming experience on a portable screen.
And I’m confident that they’ll deliver on the performance front, too. Or that the X model will, at least. Both models house updated processors but ship with the same RAM and storage as their predecessors. The Xbox Ally X is powered by an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme backed up by 24GB LPDDR5 8000MHz dual-channel RAM and a 1TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 2280 SSD, while the Xbox Ally uses a Ryzen Z2 A chip with 16GB LPDDR5 6400MHz RAM and 512GB SSD.
The Ally X ran Hogwarts Legacy very smoothly, and the magical wizarding world looked great in 1080p resolution on the display. Spells zapped and zipped around the screen with colourful bursts, indoor and outdoor environments were pleasingly detailed, and there was enough brightness to do the action justice.
As noted above, I wasn’t able to check any of the device’s settings while playing the game, but I assume it was fixed in Turbo mode, which is engaged by default when the handheld is plugged in. Based on what I played, I’m hopeful the Xbox Ally X will be able to hit a stable 60fps on relatively modern games at medium, and perhaps even high, graphical settings. Only less graphically intense titles will be able to make full use of the 120Hz refresh rates of the Xbox Ally X’s LCD panel.
Although the base model uses the same display, its less powerful hardware is designed for handling games comfortably at a lower 720p resolution. The only game available on the basic ROG Xbox Ally at the Asus stand was Roblox, and network issues with the demo unit meant I didn’t get to see it in action.
It’s perhaps telling that Asus decided against putting Hogwarts Legacy on the basic model; I can see the console struggling to cope with demanding titles. That was the case with the original Ally, after all, and is to be expected from a device that’s rumoured to cost $549. As much as we might try to will a truly affordable handheld that’s capable of playing all the latest games in glorious high-definition resolution into existence, it just ain’t gonna happen.
On both the performance and Xbox integration front, I’ll have to reserve judgment until I’ve got the finished products in my hands. However, the one area in which I can categorically say both consoles are a hit is the design.
Both devices are slightly heavier than the versions that came before them: the Xbox Ally X weighs 715g (40g more than the Ally X), while the Xbox Ally is 62g heavier than the original Ally, at 670g. But I wouldn’t have been able to tell you that with them in my hands. In fact, they felt lighter than their predecessors owing to the way their weight is distributed across the console.
The Xbox Wireless Controller-inspired grips are a big upgrade in terms of comfort, too, with the devices feeling beautifully balanced and not at all taxing on the wrists or fingers. Whether this remains the case after two or three hours of gaming, only time will tell, but initial impressions have left me feeling buoyant. Elsewhere, both consoles controlled well, with the face buttons, triggers, bumpers, and analogue sticks all responsive and satisfying tactile.
Prolonged use has taken its toll on the controls of my original ROG Ally; the ABXY buttons feel a little loose, and the right trigger gets stuck occasionally. Sadly, I can’t find anything about the redesigned Xbox Ally or Ally to suggest that it won’t be the case after two years of intensive ARPG grinding. But these issues took a long time to rear their head and are ultimately minor niggles that fade into irrelevance once I’m immersed in a game.
I can’t wait to get immersed in whatever is hot when I receive a ROG Xbox Ally X to test later this year. Hollow Knight: Silksong, Borderlands 4, Hell is Us and Silent Hill: f are just a few of the games releasing between now and then, and it’s going to be fascinating to see how the Xbox Ally handhelds handle them.
If Asus and Microsoft can successfully tweak Xbox’s system software to operate optimally on the ROG Xbox Ally X and to run new games close to 1080p/60Hz, I expect it to become the most desired gaming handheld on the market.
Pricing is likely to be a massive stumbling block, however. Its rumoured $899 RRP is a huge amount to splash out on a handheld, even if it’s shaping up to be the perfect portable Xbox Game Pass machine and has the capability of playing titles from a comprehensive range of other popular platforms.
