Regular folk can now play on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, even if they still can't preorder it yet.

Microsoft announced Wednesday during Gamescom 2025 that not only will its Xbox Ally handhelds be released on October 16, but the company is spinning up a new initiative to support optimized gaming on these devices called the Handheld Compatibility Program.

Today, Microsoft has made its release date official, declaring that on October 16 we’ll be able to get hold of both models, with pre-orders due “in the coming weeks.” Despite this, we still don’t have a price for either model. However, rumors about the potential cost continue to appear—see below.

Not least because the ROG Xbox Ally will also let you download apps for Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store, among other digital shopfronts, and you'll theoretically be able to enjoy games across those libraries seamlessly, though I'm not sure yet whether they'll be marked with the same performance badges as native Xbox games.

Still, 2025 is a very different time from 2022. Nintendo is back with a vengeance, and there are more powerful handhelds like the ASUS ROG Ally. Even Xbox is looking to get in on the action, so if you’ve not picked up a Steam Deck as of yet, have you missed your chance, especially as rumors swirl of a Steam Deck 2?

( NewsNation) — Global sales of PC gaming handhelds, including Valve’s Steam Deck, are projected to reach 2.3 million units this year, according to new research from Omdia. That would mark a 32% increase from last year, when 1.7 million devices were sold. Omdia forecasts yearly sales will grow to 4.7 million by 2029.