Xbox and Asus ROG Reveal Rival Handheld 'Ally'

The ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X made their debut during the Xbox Games Show at Summer Game Fest 2025! Continue reading for more details on the announcements.

Xbox Ally Collaboration with Asus ROG Announced at SGF 2025

Launching Later This Year!

During the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, Microsoft introduced two new Xbox-branded handhelds developed in partnership with Asus. Named the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, these portable systems aim to merge the strengths of Xbox and Windows into a more console-oriented experience. Notably, the presentation featured one of the devices running Hollow Knight: Silksong—confirming the game is not only real but playable.

Both devices, born from the Microsoft-Asus collaboration known as Project Kennan, were designed with a unified interface optimized for handheld gaming. They boot directly into a full-screen Xbox dashboard, placing your entire library—including Game Pass, Steam, Epic Games Store, and Battle.net titles—right at your fingertips.

The white Xbox Ally appears to be the more accessible model, targeting 720p gameplay with an AMD Ryzen Z2 A chip, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

The black Xbox Ally X, on the other hand, elevates performance with support for 900p to 1080p resolutions. It includes an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor with a 50 TOPS NPU, 24GB of faster RAM, and a 1TB SSD—all displayed on a 7-inch 1080p 120Hz screen.

According to Microsoft's Shawn Yen, the guiding principle for this generation is: “Efficiency is our superpower.” The Ally X comes with an 80Wh battery—one of the largest in a handheld—while the base Ally gets a 60Wh battery, a 50% increase over the original ROG Ally. Combined with a streamlined Windows 11 that reduces background processes, the goal is longer battery life and smoother gameplay.

One of the most talked-about moments was the live demo of Hollow Knight: Silksong, which drew excited reactions from viewers worldwide. With its robust hardware, console-style UI, and support for high-profile games like Silksong, the handheld PC market is set to become even more competitive. The ball is now in Steam Deck’s court.