So, how much will the Xbox Ally cost? Here are some thoughts on the rumors, and what I know so far.

The Xbox Ally and its more expensive cousin, the Xbox Ally X, are dropping in time for this holiday season.

Microsoft revealed the Xbox Ally range at the Xbox Showcase earlier in June, 2025, and the early impressions have been extremely promising. Powered by AMD's Z2 range, Microsoft said that Gears of War: Reloaded runs at a thoroughly stable 1080p, 60 FPS on the Xbox Ally X Windows 11 PC gaming handheld. Thanks to its NPU, new technologies like A.I. frame generation could boost that performance even further.

But, fancy new tech and high-end performance, naturally, comes at a cost.

Microsoft hasn't yet revealed how much these shiny new toys will cost. Rumors are swirling about the Xbox Ally price points, and I thought I'd weigh in with some analysis and sourcing of my own about what you can expect.

One of the world's most powerful gaming handhelds ever will most likely come at a powerful premium

Recently, Xbox leakster Extasis suggested that Microsoft has set the Xbox Ally base model at $499, and the more powerful Xbox Ally X at $799, complete with an October launch window. We can corroborate the October launch window, tentatively slated for late October. However, as of writing, our sources tell us that Microsoft hasn't yet fully committed to a price point. Since I believe the October launch window is true based on multiple sources — it stands to reason that Extasis' suggested price points could be what Microsoft gunning for — even if they're avoiding a full commitment as of writing. But could this be too optimistic?

Internally, the reasons for the lack of official price committal is probably exactly what you'd expect — the on-going trade and tariff "situation" taking place in the United States. With U.S. trade policy changing frequently and often without warning, adopting a price promise at this stage is most likely a poor choice.

The Xbox Ally is being built in partnership with Taiwanese firm ASUS. ASUS products are often manufactured in Taiwan and China, but the firm also has facilities in Mexico and Czechia. The United States has imposed tariffs on all of these countries in varying degrees, and ASUS previously warned its investors that the trade war could lead to higher prices.

As of writing, the ASUS ROG Ally X is $799 at ASUS' website. The Z1E base model is $649, and the regular Z1 ASUS ROG Ally is $499.

Given that the Xbox Ally X is purported to also aim for $799, while also sporting new advanced chips, is it optimistic to expect it to be the same price?

Is the Xbox Ally $799 price expectancy too optimistic?

Speaking with me on the Xbox Two Podcast, systems engineer and PC gaming handheld authority Cary Golomb said he expected a Z2E handheld to come in between $899 and $999, and the base Z2A Xbox Ally to run between $499 and $599 — I'm eager to defer to Cary on this one, despite the rumors. Microsoft has been keen to stress that the Xbox Ally X is a "premium" experience, and we're not just talking about the APU necessarily. It has a boosted battery on top, among other enhancements. The regular Xbox Ally could be a different story, though.

I would quite honestly be very shocked if the Z2 Extreme AI Xbox Ally X did land at $799, but what if Microsoft is subsidizing it somehow? With the Xbox PC app practically in your face front and center on that thing, perhaps Microsoft is hoping to make the margins back on the software and Game Pass service sales. The Xbox Ally is just a Windows PC at the end of the day, though, and there'll be nothing stopping users from foregoing the Xbox PC store and heading over to Steam to buy games instead. Microsoft's cut there is obviously zero, so hardware margins become far more important in this scenario. Xbox consoles are locked to a single store, which is why manufacturers have generally accepted lower returns on the upfront cost.

The Xbox Ally base model is using a Z2A APU, which on paper is comparable in performance to what you'll find in the $549 Steam Deck OLED. I expect that the $499 price point suggestion here could be a lot more likely to become true, as a result. However, with the Windows 11 overheads, you will probably not get the same real-world performance as the Steam Deck, owing to the efficacy of the gaming-optimized SteamOS.

Microsoft is trying to further optimize Windows 11 for PC gaming handheld scenarios, but the performance gains will likely not bridge the delta being seen by SteamOS. Either way, the Xbox Ally should be a decent system for 2D games though, particularly through Xbox Play Anywhere and PC Game Pass, which aren't natively available on the Steam Deck.

Are you interested in the Xbox Ally?

As someone who is a heavy user of the Microsoft Xbox ecosystem across both console and PC, the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X feels purpose designed for me. I use the Lenovo Legion Go today, but the added enhancements ergonomically and technologically make the Xbox Ally incredibly appealing.

At least, that's how I feel before I've seen the sticker price.

Microsoft's bold new Xbox strategy incorporates both first-party Xbox console hardware on top of "Designed for Xbox" third-party hardware, built by traditional Windows OEMs like ASUS. There's a ton of potential here, but it will require the adoption of both users and PC game devs to really take off. And one cannot take off without the other, potentially.

What do you think? What's the right price for you? Sound off in our comments.