The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X prices may have leaked — and if true, it's not as bad as I thought

A few weeks ago, we exclusively leaked the Xbox Ally, codenamed Kennan, in development with ASUS ROG.

The Xbox Ally range is powered by Z2 APUs, including the first handheld that will sport the Z2 Extreme on the high-end. These devices will have a heavily customized Windows 11 experience, complete with the first iterations of boot-to-full-screen-app capabilities. The new Xbox app will handle multi-tasking and other system features with an interface more intuitive for controller use, while also likely being the most powerful gaming handheld in existence. Given that last fact, people are expecting the Xbox Ally to also have a powerful price tag.

There have already been some rumors about its price range flying around, from anywhere between $800 to over $1000 dollars. A new report from 3DJuegos (via IG) may have given us the first glance, leaked by ASUS itself. And honestly, it's not as bad as I was expecting.

Although these prices may still just be place holders or some weird quirk of Google's new AI-"enhanced" search algorithms, Google Search store meta data scraped from ASUS' website, seemingly, suggests that the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X will closely match their predecessor's retail price, at least in Europe.

• Xbox Ally X: €899.
• Xbox Ally: €599.

For comparison, the previous Z1 Extreme ASUS ROG Ally X is currently also €899 in Europe at RRP, although it's currently on sale for $100 off on Amazon Germany.

ASUS and other hardware retailers rarely do 1:1 price conversions on devices like this. At the current exchange rate, an €899 euro ASUS ROG Ally X would come in at $1050 US if that were the case. Instead, the ASUS ROG Ally X typically sports a $799 RRP in the United States, although some US retailers like Best Buy have it at $899 right now, likely due to stock limitations. Indeed, purchasing power, VAT, currency fluctuations, tariffs, and other factors go towards deciding the finalized price. Flat currency conversions are not how prices are decided, so take analyses making such claims with a huge pinch of salt.

Given the constant evolution of the tariff situations emanating from the United States, you can bet that ASUS and Microsoft could wait until the last minute to finalize the price point. There is an event on the horizon that Microsoft typically prioritizes its PC announcements at, though, in the form of Gamescom in Germany, so it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for a formal announcement there.

Analysis: Could the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X hit $599 and $899 in the US?

The Z1 Extreme regular ASUS ROG Ally is on sale for $649 in the United States, which is where these "leaked" prices potentially get a bit more interesting.

The regular ASUS ROG Ally (Z1 Extreme) is available to buy at around €699 in Europe and $649-ish in the United States, which would put the base model Xbox Ally around €100 cheaper than its higher-end predecessor. This could be a reflection of the power disparity. The lower-end ASUS ROG Ally is listed as $499 on ASUS' website, for reference.

The Z2 "A" chip in the base model Xbox Ally is thought to not be as powerful as the Z1 Extreme in the previous ASUS ROG Ally on paper. It's specifically designed to be more cost-effective and potentially more battery efficient. The Xbox Ally X Z2 Extreme will be the crown jewel of gaming handhelds, though, and the price point will reflect that.

There has been speculation as to whether or not Microsoft would subsidize these devices, since it will be front-loading its Xbox PC store on them. I'd say that, increasingly, the era of subsidized "console" hardware is going to be a thing of the past, as players increasingly flock to PC and third-party software sales continue to be a smaller part of Microsoft's overall business. The Xbox Ally range are going to be Windows 11 gaming PCs in essence, meaning that you could buy one and never spend a penny on Microsoft's gaming ecosystem. It wouldn't make sense for Microsoft to subsidize it from their perspective.

Either way, this could be our first real glimpse at the ASUS Xbox Ally price points. I would expect the United States price points to match the sticker price, rather than do a simple currency conversion. As such, I wouldn't be surprised if the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X come in at around $599 and $899 respectively, if these EU leaked prices are indeed accurate. It would closely match our previous predictions on the Xbox Ally price.

But we won't know for sure until ASUS and Microsoft reveal it at their end. Better get saving, either way.