Last weekend, Microsoft unveiled the ROG Xbox Ally series.As an OEM device that Microsoft and Asus collaborate, it promises to provide players with portable ways to play Xbox games with Xbox devices.
However, despite Microsoft's detailed explanations during and after the Xbox Game Showcase, there are still misunderstandings about the actual capabilities of the device.PureXbox had to post a few days later to clarify: The device cannot run Xbox console games natively.
On the eve of the Xbox game show, there were many speculations about what Microsoft planned to announce, and many clues suggested that Xbox will be more deeply integrated with PC.In short, Microsoft's core selling points for these new devices are as follows:
“We optimized Windows 11 to make it easy to use from the moment you turn on ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. The Game Bar allows you to easily return to the main interface, browse the game library, launch or exit the game, chat with friends, open apps, adjust settings, and more.”
“By integrating Asus’ innovative Armoury Crate software, the game bar also gives you one-click access to advanced device and input controls. Details such as lock screen and task switcher have also been adjusted for easy navigation with the handle.”
Microsoft also explained that as a Windows 11 device, ROG Xbox Ally can run all Windows-enabled games—including PlayStation games on the PC—and probably also supports PlayStation Plus’s Windows applications.
Microsoft has not made specific commitments on how to achieve the integration of Xbox and PC, but it is understandable that some players are disappointed with the release.There have been rumors that Microsoft is developing an Xbox emulator on Windows (this may still be true), but the press conference last weekend did not confirm this.
On the other hand, last month there were rumors that Microsoft had turned its internal Xbox handheld project to partner devices, and recently there were rumors that the plan had been completely cancelled.This is likely to be a different interpretation of the same rumors after being filtered by different sources.Therefore, unless officially announced by Microsoft, we should not determine that the plan has been completely terminated.
In fact, there are still many unconfirmed rumors about Microsoft's movements.But what we are sure of now is that Xbox account users have multiple ways to play Xbox console games on ROG Xbox Ally, including Xbox Play Anywhere cross-platform games, overlapping content of console and PC Game Pass, xCloud streaming, and cross-platform progress synchronization that both games and free games need to be purchased repeatedly.
Whether you have an Xbox account or not, the improvement of Windows gaming experience on handheld consoles may bring major changes.Therefore, we will wait and see how ROG Xbox Ally and Microsoft's future Xbox handheld consoles will develop.
