Home windows could 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 whenever 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 person interface for operating 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 people entry to the brand new interface on nearly any Home windows handheld system.
Learn Extra: Steam Ate Microsoft’s Lunch On PC, It’s About To Do The Same On Handhelds
As noted by The Verge, The upcoming 25H2 replace for Home windows 11 helps 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 post by user Gogsi123 outlines the entire course of). Not like the overlay that software program firms like Asus present for his or her Home windows handhelds, this new Xbox app skips all the Home windows desktop setting in favor of a fullscreen, controller-friendly expertise. And individuals are discovering, by means of the preview workaround, that it appears to result in marginal efficiency beneficial properties as properly.
Learn Extra: The Xbox Ally PC Gaming Handheld Feels Great, But At What Price?
Whereas this model of the fullscreen Xbox app requires some legwork to get working, its availability throughout Home windows handhelds undercuts one of many foremost appeals of the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X–which is distinctly 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 the very 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 not too long ago, the power of the Switch 2 has made it one thing of a competitor on this area as properly.
It’s all of the stranger, then, that we’re not truly certain precisely how a lot Microsoft and Asus’ collaboration goes to price. In line with a report from former IGN writer Destin Legarie, a neighborhood Finest Purchase indicated {that a} $549 model and an $899 one could 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 value 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 positively attest to the worth of getting extra video games out there on a handheld that’s operating 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 number of tweaks to the Home windows registry can even give individuals that have on a non-Xbox Ally X, I think about it’ll be more durable to discover a use case for the Xbox Ally for individuals who already personal a handheld gaming system and aren’t afraid to tinker with their machines.
