The Xbox Ally X is already selling out, despite its beefy price tag — “The hype is real!” says Microsoft.

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The Xbox Ally pricing is finally here, and it ain’t cheap.

The Xbox Ally is a brand-new gaming PC created through a partnership between Microsoft and ASUS. It’s the first time Xbox has collaborated with another company to produce gaming hardware, signaling a fresh approach for Microsoft in this area.

The Xbox Ally is one of the first handheld gaming PCs to use the powerful Z2 Extreme processor, alongside the Lenovo Legion Go 2. This new processor should deliver longer battery life, better performance, and smoother gameplay. Plus, the Xbox Ally features an improved user interface thanks to updates in Windows 11, making it easier to juggle tasks and enjoy games.

I’ve been testing the Xbox Ally, and while it doesn’t play *every* Xbox game, it runs a huge number of them – hundreds, actually – thanks to the Xbox Play Anywhere program, which essentially gives you a PC version when you buy the Xbox version. What’s really impressive is it handles almost any app or game you’d run on a powerful Windows laptop, even demanding software like Adobe Photoshop. Plus, it works with all your usual USB and HDMI accessories.

The Xbox Ally costs about as much as a laptop. The standard Xbox Ally is $599, while the Xbox Ally X is $999 in the US, and many people are debating whether those prices are too high. Despite the cost, both models have quickly sold out.

Microsoft announced on X (formerly Twitter) this morning that they’ve sold out of their initial stock of the new Xbox on their website, declaring “The hype is real!”

The ROG Xbox Ally X is incredibly popular! Preorders are already sold out on the Xbox Store globally. If you still want to order one, you can do so at https://t.co/eRMel1t1yy or check with local retailers listed at https://t.co/MSGd97Wi6f. This information is current as of September 26, 2025.

If you’re thinking about buying this device, you should act quickly – it’s selling out fast. While Argos and Curry’s in the UK still have some in stock, ASUS and Xbox.com are currently sold out. In the US, Best Buy has a limited number available, but they likely won’t last long.

It wasn’t a massive overstock situation, but ASUS might have, like Lenovo, underestimated how popular this device would be. Microsoft’s constant marketing push throughout the summer indicates this device is getting much more attention than similar products usually do.

Here are a few places you still might be able to snag a preorder as of writing.

Neither the Lenovo Legion Go nor the Steam Deck received much marketing, and both were hard to find when they first launched. The newer Lenovo Legion Go 2 is considerably pricier than the Xbox Ally X, but it also quickly sold out after release.

The strong interest in the Xbox Ally and similar handheld gaming devices clearly shows there’s a real market for this type of product. This is good news for Microsoft, as their approach of letting games be played on both Xbox consoles and PCs – combined with the PC Game Pass subscription – appears to be improving their success in PC gaming. However, Microsoft still faces significant challenges. Many game developers aren’t prioritizing releasing their games on the Microsoft Store, and Microsoft needs to regain the trust of dedicated PC gamers who strongly prefer Steam.

The Xbox Ally and Ally X represent a significant improvement, especially for gaming on Windows 11. It’s impressive how quickly Microsoft and ASUS partnered on this device, considering the AMD Z2E platform is relatively new. Plus, features like the Neural Processing Unit and AI upscaling will continue to improve with updates expected next year.

It will be fascinating to watch how this partnership develops, and whether Microsoft increases its focus on Xbox Play Anywhere and building games for PC in the future.

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2025-09-26 11:10