Microsoft Partners with Asus to Enter the Handheld Gaming PC Market

Oh boy, Microsoft teaming up with Asus for a portable Xbox? Wild, right? So, they’re calling these gizmos the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X—one’s got a little more oomph, apparently. And get this, they’re both using Windows 11. Shocker, I know. I guess this means they wanna play nice with Battle.net and who knows what else? Game Pass is all over it, naturally, plus the Xbox Cloud Gaming thing.

I was thinking, how different are these from ROG’s other handheld thingamajigs? No clue. Roanne Sones—Xbox’s big cheese on gaming hardware—says these devices let you game anywhere. But then she also rattled on about features like full-screen Xbox stuff, gaming libraries… you know, techy-talk.

There’s this bit about Windows 11 being all tuned up for these Allies. Game Bar’s there too—you can do the usual: hop back to your home screen, snoop around your games, jabber with buddies. It’s all about ease, supposedly.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what it’ll cost… join the club. They’re hinting at a late 2025 launch. So yeah, mark your calendars—or not. What a ride!