Home windows might show a superbly appropriate platform for gaming on a conventional PC, however on handheld units just like the ROG Ally, Legion Go, and even the Steam Deck, it’s one other story. Microsoft’s working system is commonly too clunky and irritating if you’re restricted to a gamepad for enter. The upcoming Xbox-branded Ally from Asus, nonetheless, has promised an answer with a devoted, controller-friendly consumer interface for working PC video games on the go. These units have but to hit cabinets, however a downloadable preview of a brand new model of Home windows 11 is giving of us entry to the brand new interface on nearly any Home windows handheld gadget.
Learn Extra: Steam Ate Microsoft’s Lunch On PC, It’s About To Do The Identical On Handhelds
As famous by The Verge, The upcoming 25H2 replace for Home windows 11 enables you to launch the brand new gaming-focused, fullscreen Xbox app for Home windows with just some tweaks to the registry and the assistance of a third-party device (a Reddit put up by consumer Gogsi123 outlines the entire course of). Not like the overlay that software program corporations like Asus present for his or her Home windows handhelds, this new Xbox app skips the complete Home windows desktop atmosphere in favor of a fullscreen, controller-friendly expertise. And persons are discovering, by the use of the preview workaround, that it appears to result in marginal efficiency good points as nicely.
Learn Extra: The Xbox Ally PC Gaming Handheld Feels Nice, However At What Worth?
Whereas this model of the fullscreen Xbox app requires some legwork to get working, its availability throughout Home windows handhelds undercuts one of many predominant appeals of the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X–which is distinctly totally different from Asus’ ROG Ally X–which is predicted to reach on October 16, 2025.
The ROG Xbox Ally X is lower than a month away, and we’re nonetheless unsure of pricing
Although one of the best graphical experiences are nonetheless had on well-kitted PCs and cutting-edge consoles, we’re within the midst of a handheld arms race kicked off by Valve three years in the past when it launched the Steam Deck. Since then, different PC producers have jumped in with Home windows-based choices. Extra just lately, the ability of the Swap 2 has made it one thing of a competitor on this area as nicely.
It’s all of the stranger, then, that we’re not truly positive precisely how a lot Microsoft and Asus’ collaboration goes to value. Based on a report from former IGN author Destin Legarie, a neighborhood Finest Purchase indicated {that a} $549 model and an $899 one can be out there when he known as to ask about it. If that is correct, that places the lower-tier model of the Xbox Ally on the similar worth because the smaller-capacity Steam Deck OLED, and inside aggressive pricing vary of the present ROG Ally and Ally X, which retail for about $649 and $899, respectively.
Having loved my time with the ROG Ally X, I can undoubtedly attest to the worth of getting extra video games out there on a handheld that’s working Home windows as an alternative of Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS, although I usually desire the shape issue and controller-focused interface of the Steam Deck. Now, if a couple of tweaks to the Home windows registry may give folks that have on a non-Xbox Ally X, I think about it’ll be tougher to discover a use case for the Xbox Ally for many who already personal a handheld gaming gadget and aren’t afraid to tinker with their machines.
