The Xbox Ally X Will Really Shine With Indie Games

Last week, Microsoft unveiled what we each suspected was coming: an Xbox handheld. And portion the ROG Xbox Ally X isn’t the existent “handheld Xbox” immoderate radical astir apt wanted, it has the accidental to bring handheld PC gaming into the mainstream successful a mode we haven’t seen since the Steam Deck launched backmost successful 2022.

If Microsoft and Asus are capable to nail the details, peculiarly astir the operating strategy and the price, the Xbox Ally could beryllium the archetypal glimpse astatine Microsoft’s adjacent procreation of “consoles.” But there’s a catch: Handheld gaming PCs are by their precise quality exercises successful compromise. Microsoft did accidental that each shiny crippled it showed disconnected astatine its summertime games showcase would beryllium "playable" connected the Xbox Ally X, but it’s a small much analyzable than that.

I person nary uncertainty the Xbox Ally X, with its Z2 Extreme SoC (system connected a chip), volition beryllium much than almighty capable to run AAA games. But the existent prima of the amusement is going to beryllium the little demanding indie games that Microsoft softly adds to Game Pass each period – and that mightiness beryllium the point.

Limited Power?

The AMD Z2 Extreme was announced backmost astatine CES 2025. But six months later, there’s inactive not a azygous handheld you tin bargain connected a store support that’s powered by this chip. Meanwhile, the forthcoming Xbox Ally X isn’t just utilizing the Z2 Extreme – it’s utilizing the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, which is basically the same, but with a 50 TOPs NPU stapled onto it. Still, we person nary thought however good it volition really play games, conscionable that it’ll astatine slightest beryllium faster than the Z1 Extreme.

Even with the added performance, you should temper your expectations, particularly erstwhile it comes to AAA games with high-end graphics effects. The highest-performing handheld I’ve used, the Lenovo Legion Go S with the Z1 Extreme and SteamOS, inactive struggles to tally games similar Cyberpunk 2077 astatine higher settings astatine its autochthonal solution – and that crippled came retired astir 5 years ago.

Cyberpunk is simply a spot of an outlier, arsenic it’s inactive susceptible of pushing adjacent the RTX 5090 to its limits, but arsenic games get much demanding connected the high-end, strategy requirements are lone going to spell up. So portion the Xbox Ally X volition technically beryllium capable to tally this upcoming harvest of AAA Xbox games, it’s going to beryllium astatine debased settings, and apt a little framework rate.

That shouldn’t discourage you, though. I’ve spent the past 2 years obsessing implicit these small handheld gaming PCs, and retired of my hundreds of hours playing connected them, I tin archer you that precise small of that was playing games similar God of War oregon Cyberpunk. Instead, indie games similar Hades 2 person consumed my life.

Indie Games are Magic

When the Nintendo Switch came retired backmost successful 2017, I initially thought games similar Breath of the Wild were the constituent – and possibly they were. But arsenic I grew continually sick of mediocre show successful games that were trying to beryllium immense AAA console experiences, my Switch settled into its relation of being a 2nd place, aft Steam, for maine to bargain my favourite indie games to play successful furniture oregon connected the train. Then the Steam Deck came out.

Handheld gaming PCs were astir earlier the Steam Deck, caput you, but they were niche products that were fiddly to use, particularly without immoderate benignant of keyboard attachment. Now that we’re surviving successful this post-Deck world, though, machine manufacturers similar Lenovo and, yes, Asus, person recovered ways to marque handheld gaming PCs genuinely excellent. And I don’t person to bargain indie games a 2nd clip to play them, either.

Instead, if I privation to enactment immoderate clip successful Hades 2, I conscionable log into Steam and I’m bully to spell – my prevention adjacent carries over. The quality of the Windows-based handhelds is that applies to each the PC crippled storefronts, whether I’m playing games connected Game Pass oregon adjacent the Epic Games Store.

For me, this has resulted successful a benignant of multi-tiered PC gaming setup. I inactive play beauteous AAA games similar Doom: The Dark Ages connected my desktop, wherever I tin pump the settings up to max and bask precocious framework rates. I don’t adjacent effort to instal that benignant of crippled connected my handhelds anymore, instead, they springiness maine a accidental to dive deeper into games similar Rift of the Necrodancer oregon Slay the Spire. Before handheld gaming PCs blew up, those were the types of games I’d play for a fewer hours to spot what the hype was astir earlier I inevitably went backmost to playing World of Warcraft.

I’m not unsocial successful this either. Earlier this week, I polled my colleagues present astatine IGN, and I was amazed to find that astir aren’t utilizing their handhelds to play blockbusters. Instead astir are utilizing their handheld to play indie games and JRPGs, the second of which thin to beryllium overmuch little reliant connected a precocious framework complaint to beryllium enjoyable.

The compatibility that’s inherent to Windows PC gaming handhelds is simply a large mode to marque indie games a overmuch bigger portion of your gaming diet. But for that wider compatibility (read: playing a crippled from thing different than Steam), either I person to fiddle astir with Linux connected SteamOS oregon woody with the headache of utilizing Windows connected a handheld. But that’s wherefore the imaginable of a handheld-friendly mentation of Windows 11 is truthful exciting.

By removing the friction it takes to get into games from third-party launchers connected Steam Deck, portion besides hopefully maintaining the benefits of a streamlined, gaming-centric operating system, the ROG Xbox Ally X has the accidental to beryllium the champion of some worlds. After all, Asus markets some its existing Ally X and the upcoming Xbox Ally X with the hashtag "#PlayAllyourgames.” Now, hopefully this team-up makes that hap without the interaction screen-induced headache I get from existing Windows handhelds.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN and the PC components queen. You tin travel her @Jackiecobra