The Xbox Ally pricing is finally here, and it ain't cheap.
The Xbox Ally is the first Xbox co-branded OEM gaming PC from Microsoft and ASUS, representing a new dawn for gaming hardware from the big firm.
The Xbox Ally joins the Lenovo Legion Go 2 as the first Z2 Extreme powered PC gaming handhelds, promising boosted battery life, efficiency, and frame rates. The Xbox Ally also has enhanced user interfacing from Windows 11 tweaks, bringing improved multi-tasking and a gaming focus.
The Xbox Ally won't run all of your Xbox console games, but it will run hundreds of them via the Xbox Play Anywhere program, which gives you PC version licenses alongside your Xbox version. It will also run practically any app or game that runs on a higher-end Windows laptop, even including things like Adobe Photoshop and any USB or HDMI accessory.
As such, the Xbox Ally is priced similarly to a laptop. The Xbox Ally X and Xbox Ally are $599 and $999 respectively in the United States, leading to widespread discussion about whether or not it's too expensive. That hasn't stopped them selling out, though.
Microsoft shared a post on X this morning stating "The hype is real!" revealing that it has totally sold through its Xbox.com stock of the device.
The hype is real! ROG Xbox Ally X preorders are sold out on the Xbox Store worldwide.You can still grab yours at https://t.co/eRMel1t1yy or find a local retailer on https://t.co/MSGd97Wi6fSeptember 26, 2025
If you've been trying to figure out whether or not to buy the device, you should know that Xbox Ally X stocks are dwindling fast. In the UK, some retailers like Argos and Curry's seem to still have them (update: andddd, they're gone) but ASUS and Xbox.com are totally cleared out. Best Buy seems to still have some in the United States, but it doesn't seem like they'll last much longer. (EDIT: Asus in UK still showing stock through this link)
Selling out doesn't exactly mean that there was a huge amount of stock for this thing, of course. ASUS may have joined Lenovo in potentially underestimating demand for this device. The fact Microsoft has been non-stop blitzing marketing for this thing across the entire summer suggests to me it has greater visibility than devices like this typically have.
Here are a few places you still might be able to snag a preorder as of writing.
The Lenovo Legion Go or even the Steam Deck had virtually zero marketing, and both suffered stock issues, at least initially. The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is significantly more expensive than the Xbox Ally X, but still sold out almost immediately as well.
Still, it proves beyond doubt that there is some serious demand for the Xbox Ally, and the PC gaming handheld segment in general. It bodes well for Microsoft's "Xbox Play Anywhere" strategy, which coupled with PC Game Pass, seems to have reversed the firm's fortunes in PC gaming. Microsoft has a huge mountain to climb though. Many game developers simply don't care about putting their games on the Microsoft Store. Microsoft also has a big trust gap with core PC gamers, who see Steam as the platform of choice.
The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are undoubtedly a big step in the right direction, primarily with regards to the gaming enhancements to Windows 11 if nothing else. The speed at which Microsoft has managed to put together a credible collaboration with ASUS on this is worth lauding too, given the relative newness of the Z2E platform from AMD. There's also the NPU and AI upscaling factor to consider as well, whose features won't be fully greenlit until next year from what I understand.
It'll be interesting to see how the partnership continues from here, and how much more emphasis Microsoft puts on Xbox Play Anywhere and PC game development moving forward.
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