Microsoft have confirmed the retail price of the ROG Xbox Ally and its more powerful variant, the ROG Xbox Ally X.
The two handheld gaming PCs will be released on October 16, with the standard version costing $599.99 and the X version costing $999.99.
ROG Xbox Ally Price Criticized
The pricing will leave even the basic version of the ROG Xbox Ally at a significantly higher price point than its main competitor the Steam Deck, with the new OLED version now costing only $319, and the Nintendo Switch 2, which costs around $449.
As well as being much pricier than the Steam Deck, it’s questionable as to how much extra performance will be gained from the basic ROG Xbox Ally, with the specifications being extremely similar to the 2022 version of Valve’s handheld PC.
The ROG Xbox Ally will have a higher-resolution display as well as a 120hz refresh rate, but will also have an LCD screen compared to the OLED available for the Steam Deck. The X version will run the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chip, the latest from AMD for handheld devices, but seems a modest upgrade considering the model costs three times the price of a Steam Deck.
The Rising Cost of Gaming
However, Microsoft are hardly alone in raising the prices of hardware, with the soaring cost of consoles and devices blamed on manufacturing costs, tariffs, competition, or a combination of the three.
The price of games is also increasing, with many suggesting that the impending release Grand Theft Auto 6 could be a watershed moment for the industry, amid suggestions it could significantly raise the future price consumers expect to pay for AAA titles.
Whether enough fans pick up the ROG Xbox Ally at the hefty price tag remains to be seen. Not long after the announcement, Xbox also said that pre-orders were sold out worldwide. For now, local retailers are the only place to find one until stocks replenish.
