The ROG Xbox Ally will reportedly launch in October, but I'm still not convinced there's a good enough reason to buy it yet
Microsoft, and specifically the Xbox division, has been in a bit of a weird state for some time. With the pivot away from exclusives, a former Xbox team member declared "Xbox hardware is dead", and it's easy to see why. It is moving ever closer to becoming a third-party game publisher, and deals to make Xbox-branded Meta Quests and ROG Ally's certainly feel like moves made by a team slowly moving away from hardware.
Today, Dealabs posted a report claiming the ROG Xbox Ally would finally launch on October 16 this year (via GamesRadar). If you don't recognise that site, you may recognise the author billbil-kun, who has a storied track record with industry leaks.
This leak claims that sales will begin during Gamescom 2025 on Wednesday, August 20, less than two weeks from now. This report corroborates previous reports in regard to pricing. It says the Xbox Ally will be priced at €599 ($699) and the Xbox Ally X at €899 ($1,050).
The article does clarify that this is only what they've been able to surmise for the European launch of the handheld. A launch in the US or Asia could technically have a different date from this one. It's also worth noting that prices in euros don't always reflect US pricing.
Of course, as ever, until we have official confirmation from Microsoft or Asus, we can't take this date (or this pricing) as fact. However, billbil does have a record for accurate leaks (previously accurately reporting the Indiana Jones PS5 launch and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 announcement).
The upcoming, more expensive ROG Xbox Ally X comes kitted with the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme APU. Early testing seems to suggest the memory bandwidth will be a problem for the chip, and though it is certainly better than the Z1 Extreme, you would expect this for the extra price. With both devices side by side, at the same power limit and at a high resolution, they performed similarly.
These tests saw bumps of 12% in Cyberpunk 2077 on the Steam Deck quality preset, at 1080p, with a 25 W power limit. Software finetuning will help get more power out of the chip, but I'm a tad underwhelmed right now, and the thought of the Xbox branding on the ROG Xbox Ally doesn't make me feel much better about it.
Releasing what is effectively the most anyone can pay for an off-the-shelf Xbox device means that there's a lot to prove here, and the handheld gaming PC market is already loaded with great options. The SteamOS version of the Legion Go with Z1 Extreme is $800, and the MSI Claw 8 AI+ with Intel Core Ultra 8 258V is $900.
From a value proposition approaching $1000, it's hard to overlook these. And this is all before mentioning the Microsoft mass layoffs and shareholder investigations into Microsoft's "human rights due diligence", both of which make me reticent to crack open a big Xbox advertisement on the train.
On the plus side, recently, Xbox president Sarah Bond said Hollow Knight: Silksong would be "available at launch and in Game Pass when Ally releases later this year". So, even if you don't particularly care about the ROG Xbox Ally (join the club), something good may come out of its launch.