Featured Image Credit: Microsoft
Xbox's new handheld console has garnered plenty of excitement within the gaming world, yet that hype might die down after leaks have seemingly confirmed the worst fears of many.
After over a decade of anticipation, Microsoft finally revealed its first-ever gaming handheld console, following in the footsteps of the ever-popular Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck.
It's far more of a portable PC than the aforementioned Switch, especially as it takes the shell of the existing Asus ROG Ally with a number of Xbox-specific additions.
The announcement was well received by many, especially as it seems to promise an optimized version of Windows that could solve many of the problems gaming handhelds have faced when using the popular operating system.
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However, new leaks seem to reveal the one thing that people have remained wary of, and it could put you off picking one up when it drops later this year.
As reported by Fragsternotable, leaker eXtas1s has allegedly gained the price of the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X from two European shops, and it follows an incredibly unpopular trend that’s currently plaguing the gaming industry.
The leak reveals that the standard Xbox Ally will come in at €599, whereas the enhanced Xbox Ally X will be as much as €899. Converted to US dollars, that's expected to settle at around $700 and $1,000, respectively. This would make the latter the most expensive handheld on the market.
People were already up in arms about the price of the Nintendo Switch 2, and that came in at ‘just’ $449.99, so the Xbox Ally X is over double the price and, in theory, also requires an active Xbox Game Pass subscription to take full advantage of.
Granted, the specifications of both the standard and enhanced versions of Xbox's handheld do surpass those of the Switch 2, but it's still a hefty investment for many when games are now seemingly stretching to the $80 mark.
As with all leaks, you do have to take this with a pinch of salt, especially as eXtas1s hasn't always provided correct information. But, considering the existing price of the non-Xbox ROG Ally and Ally X - $649.99 and $799.99 - it's not hard to see this coming true.
Official communications from Xbox have indicated that both versions of the ROG Xbox Ally will launch in 'Holiday 2025', but eXtas1s has indicated that this could be as early as October 2025, with pre-orders opening up in August.
This would appear to be quite soon for the holiday period, but if it were later on in the month or perhaps in early November, then that might start to make more sense.
