During Gamescom 2025, Microsoft’s Xbox and ASUS ROG have officially announced that the ROG Xbox Ally (often referred to as just Xbox Ally) and Xbox Ally X will be available for purchase starting on October 16, 2025.
Before this, all we knew was that they would be available by Holiday 2025.
Simultaneously with this announcement, Xbox unveiled a new Handheld Compatibility Program for their portable gaming series. Essentially, it mirrors the Steam Deck verification process, which should provide a clear idea of its purpose.
It appears that Xbox has advanced its compatibility system more than Valve’s, aiming to provide players with a clearer idea of how smoothly a game will run on Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X.
Indeed, if executed effectively, this measure could potentially alleviate an annoying predicament that numerous Steam Deck users have encountered.
What is Xbox’s Handheld Compatibility Program?
Xbox has developed a system that labels games as optimized for portable devices, such as handheld consoles. The labels include “Handheld Optimized” and “Mostly Compatible.
In a press release, Xbox clarifies what these badges mean:
- Handheld Optimized: This indicates games that are ready to go—with default controller inputs, an intuitive text input method, accurate iconography, clear text legibility, and appropriate resolution in full-screen mode—so you can spend less time adjusting settings, and more time defeating that next big boss.
- Mostly Compatible: This indicates games that may require minor in-game setting changes for an optimal experience on handheld.
From what we have here, it appears that games lacking these badges might not be specifically designed for optimal handheld performance. However, this doesn’t automatically imply that they won’t function smoothly on the Xbox Allie or Xbox Allie X.
Now, combine that with Windows Performance Fit indicators
Alongside the existing compatibility badges, Xbox will introduce a new Windows Compatibility Score, offering a rough estimate of a game’s potential performance on either an Xbox Series S (Xbox Ally) or the more robust Xbox Series X.
According to Xbox’s announcement, when a game is marked as ‘Handheld Optimized’ and bears the ‘Windows Performance Fit’ badge with either “Plays great” or “Plays well” label, it indicates that the game is compatible and offers optimal performance. This provides extra confidence before you start playing.
Microsoft (Xbox) is collaborating with numerous game development studios, helping them adapt and optimize numerous games for mobile compatibility.
When you play games labeled as “Handheld Optimized” on Xbox Alloy devices, you may find it necessary to tweak the settings slightly for optimal performance. However, these games should generally function smoothly on your device.
This two-part system potentially solves a problem that Steam Deck verification still has
If you or someone you’re acquainted with has a Steam Deck, it’s probable that you’ve already come across the Steam Deck authentication process, which shares some resemblance to the newly introduced Handheld Compatibility Program by Xbox.
This tool helps determine if a game is compatible with Steam Deck, thanks to the four signals supplied by Valve for that purpose.
- Verified: The game passes Valve’s compatibility checks.
- Playable: The game can function on Steam Deck, but might have certain issues, like having small text that’s hard to read on a handheld.
- Unsupported: The game isn’t compatible with Steam Deck, potentially due to hardware limitations or maybe even with Proton, the Steam Deck’s compatibility layer that translates Windows API’s (Application Programming Interfaces) to the Linux-based SteamOS.
- Unknown: The game hasn’t been tested, so Steam Deck compatibility is unknown. In other words, the game might play, or it might not.
One potential rephrasing of your text could be: When deciding on a game purchase for the Steam Deck, Valve’s system doesn’t provide all necessary information, as pointed out by my colleague, Richard Devine. While Steam Deck Verification is helpful, it does not indicate whether a verified game may run poorly on the Steam Deck.
For example, there have been numerous occasions when I purchased a game labeled as Steam Deck Verified, expecting smooth gameplay. However, more often than not, the game runs choppy on my Steam Deck or freezes so frequently that it becomes frustrating to play.
Reddit pages and Steam Deck forums are full of people pointing out this same issue.
In essence, Xbox appears to be tackling this issue proactively by offering its own compatibility system and a Windows performance gauge. This setup should prevent you from encountering the annoying scenario where you buy a game marketed as ‘handheld optimized’, but it performs poorly on the Xbox Ally.
Keep in mind that although the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X boast impressive specifications for handheld devices, they don’t compare to the raw power of a gaming laptop or desktop computer. To maintain portability, certain compromises must be made.
The effectiveness of this two-component system hinges upon the collaboration between Xbox’s Handheld Compatibility Program and Windows Performance Fit functioning optimally. If they do, these new handheld devices could offer a significantly enhanced user experience.
If nothing else, I hope Valve learns from this idea and implements something similar.
I’m honestly stoked for the Xbox Ally X
As an avid fan of portable gaming PCs at Windows Central, I can’t wait to get my hands on both the Xbox Allie and Xbox Allie X devices as soon as they become available. Once I get them, I’ll conduct thorough testing and write a comprehensive review, which will include assessing their dual-system compatibility (if it has been released by then).
I’ve had hands-on experience with almost all significant gaming handhelds, such as the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, ROG Ally X, Legion Go, Legion Go S (operating on both SteamOS and Windows), MSI Claw 8 AI+, multiple AYANEO devices, among others.
From my previous encounter, I can’t wait to explore the gaming capabilities of the top-of-the-line Xbox Alloy X. Its latest Windows optimization, portable compatibility feature, and performance metrics may offer an unparalleled portable gaming experience yet.
You might not be aware of this, but the new Xbox Ally line is expected to deliver enhanced system performance compared to earlier Windows handheld devices. This improvement is attributed to its full-screen mode, which shuts down background programs, thereby conserving battery life and boosting performance simultaneously.
Introducing the latest AMD Ryzen Z2 AI Extreme APU into the equation might lead to performance surpassing what we’ve experienced with the ASUS ROG Ally.
One way or the other, I’m excited to find out how it compares to previous devices I’ve tested.
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2025-08-20 16:41