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SvennoJ on 16 October 2025
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Eurogamers isn't sure whether the Rog Ally X is an XBox or not. Still Windows quirks while trying to use it as an XBox and it doesn't simply play all your XBox console games.

https://www.eurogamer.net/rog-xbox-ally-x-review

If you found the Steam Deck to be not console-like enough, then you might want to reset your expectations for the ROG Xbox Ally X.

Imagine Steam's Big Screen mode and implementation on Steam Deck, but not quite as slick. While this fullscreen mode does well to keep Windows and its multitude of apps out of sight, it does pop up, sometimes quite visibly.

The biggest issue here is Xbox's Play Anywhere initiative, which was designed so that you can buy a game in the Xbox ecosystem and can play it on all Xbox devices. In practice it's some way off being ideal, and requires players to inform themselves as much as possible to avoid disappointment.

Let's take CD Projekt Red's two biggest releases, The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 - games I'm keen to play on this powerhouse of a handheld. I own both of these games on Xbox, the games being playable on my Xbox Series X. Despite owning these on the Xbox ecosystem, neither game is available on the Xbox PC store and they aren't Play Anywhere titles, so I can't play them on the ROG - not unless I want to stream them in via cloud gaming.

Specific ROG settings, too, shatter the Xbox illusion. On the ROG there's a Command Center that operates aside from the Xbox app. The toolbar version is harmless enough, but to delve deeper you must open the app fully and leave the Xbox familiarity behind. Updates to apps and services are also handled separately to the main Xbox app, which I feel could have been integrated more seamlessly.

At £800 this isn't a cheap handheld - for comparison the basic Steam Deck is £349. The ROG Xbox Ally X is more powerful than a Steam Deck, by a considerable margin that does make playing those more demanding releases a far more pleasant experience. And it's got a nice VRR 120Hz screen, plus better battery life providing you aren't pushing the GPU too hard (I got about 90 minutes play time while maxing out performance, but in excess of six hours in less demanding games). But it's not quite as high-end as you might expect.


It's an attempt, about as much as the windows store's attempt to win people over.