A new era has begun for Xbox following the launch of the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X gaming handhelds, as folks wonder what’s next on the horizon. Both gaming handheld models were launched last week, on October 16, and have generally received positive reviews, although some have questioned the considerable price difference between the two. Xbox President Sarah Bond has provided some background regarding the $599.99 and $999.99 pricing for the new gaming handhelds while also addressing concerns that Microsoft could abandon development of its console line following months of rumors and speculation. To begin with, Bond clarified in an interview with Variety how the ball was always in ASUS’s court when it came to pricing.
“That is all of their insight into the market, into the feature set, into what people want, to determine the ultimate prices of the devices.”
Sarah Bond, Xbox President
Bond adds that “We sold out on the Xbox Store. We sold really quickly at a number of other places around the world,” and that “I feel really good about the value that we’re giving gamers for the price, based off the reception to the hardware.”
Microsoft, Xbox, and ASUS all worked together to create an Xbox experience using Windows 11 sans a keyboard and mouse. The teams focused on revamping the OS to use the controller and touchscreen for a seamless and optimized UI for the handhelds, where players would recognize a nearly identical interface as seen on the Xbox X|S. It should be noted that the Ally and Ally X do not natively run Xbox games but rather their PC counterpart versions or those streamed via Game Pass. Users can, of course, access Steam or other online services for more games as well.
All of this focus on the handhelds has left some wondering if Xbox will continue to make its own hardware. After all, it shouldn’t be forgotten how it was announced shortly after their initial reveal at Gamescom that Microsoft was pausing its in-house development for a gaming handheld to assist ASUS with its products. Shortly after that, Microsoft was rumored to have canceled its Xbox gaming handheld. Well, Bond is clear that Microsoft is still 100% fully committed to making new products in the future.
“We have our next-gen hardware in development. We’ve been looking at prototyping, designing. We have a partnership we’ve announced with AMD around it, so that is coming.”
Sarah Bond, Xbox President
Bond expands on this by explaining how Xbox saw an opportunity to offer Xbox gamers a new choice by offering the handhelds, and that next-gen hardware is still on the way. It also shouldn’t come as a surprise if Microsoft does choose to move forward in making an Xbox gaming handheld now that the waters have been tested and a number of pieces are now in place.