Well, it's finally here. Microsoft had hinted at its desire to enter the world of portable PC gaming on numerous occasions in the past. While I expected the company to create its own hardware, it made sense for Microsoft to leverage the expertise that ROG already possessed. As such, we saw the first peek into the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X a little while ago, and it was shaping up to be a very interesting product at the time.

While Asus confirmed earlier today how much the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X would cost, we now have a better idea of what to expect from these devices. Microsoft has published a press release breaking down what the new consoles can do, and they're looking very interesting.

Microsoft confirms the existence of the "Xbox full screen experience" on the ROG Xbox Ally

In a post on the Xbox Wire, Microsoft confirms the pricing we saw in Asus' earlier press release. The ROG Xbox Ally will cost $599, while the Ally X will retail for $999. However, the company also dove into what's on the horizon for Xbox handheld consoles, and things are looking pretty sweet.

The spotlight feature is something we already saw sneak into the Windows 11 25H2 update:

Launch directly into the Xbox full screen experience, a dedicated experience purpose-built for gaming, powered by Windows 11, and inspired by the console user experience. With new modifications that minimize background activity and defer non-essential tasks, more system resources are dedicated specifically to gameplay.

This move was likely to counteract how SteamOS allowed Windows handhelds to perform better than Windows itself, so the company is likely making efforts to reduce Windows 11's impact on the game itself to improve performance.

Microsoft also confirms an "Xbox button" that brings up the Game Bar when pressed, something that the Redmond giant is adding an AI backseat gamer to. Additionally, we're witnessing the implementation of the aggregated library, where Microsoft aims to consolidate all popular PC digital storefronts under one banner, making it easier to find and launch your games.

Microsoft revealed the existence of three modes: native play, remote play, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Native play uses the onboard hardware to render your games. Remote play allows you to stream a game from your Xbox console directly to your handheld device for improved graphical fidelity. Finally, Xbox Cloud Gaming mode allows you to stream your game from Microsoft's servers, which handle all the heavy graphical processing for you.