During the Xbox broadcast at gamescom 2025, a major announcement was made for Aussie gamers looking to take their library on the go. Xbox confirmed that the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds will officially launch in Australia on October 16th, positioning them perfectly for the holiday season.
First revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase earlier this year, these new devices signal a serious push into handheld PC gaming. They promise to make it easier than ever to access your favourite games from Xbox, Battle.net, and other leading PC storefronts, no matter where you are.
The official Australian release date for both the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X is set for October 16, 2025. While local pricing and pre-order information hasn’t been detailed just yet, Xbox has advised that more details will be announced in the coming weeks.
To support the new hardware, Xbox also announced the Handheld Compatibility Program. This new initiative is designed to ensure more games are ready to play on your supported handheld device right out of the box.
Players will see badges directly in their game library, indicating if a title is “Handheld Optimised” or “Mostly Compatible”. This comes from Xbox working directly with studios to test and verify thousands of games, so you can spend less time tweaking settings and more time playing.
Xbox is also introducing a host of new features to enhance the handheld experience on the ROG Xbox Ally devices.
Advanced shader delivery
This new feature preloads game shaders during the download process. The result is that select games can launch up to 10 times faster, run smoother, and even use less battery on their first play.
In addition, the more powerful ROG Xbox Ally X will receive new AI-powered features starting early next year.
Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR)
This is a system-level feature that leverages the power of the device’s NPU to upscale games. It intelligently boosts games running at lower resolutions to deliver high-resolution visuals and smooth framerates without game developers needing to make any changes.
Highlight reels
Using AI, the device will automatically capture your most impressive gameplay moments. Whether it’s an epic boss battle or a hard-fought victory, the system generates short replay clips for you to easily share with friends or on your social channels.
For those who still enjoy a traditional controller, Xbox also highlighted the ROG Raikiri II Xbox Wireless Controller. Created by ASUS through the Designed for Xbox program, it features a 1000Hz polling rate in PC mode, anti-drift TMR joysticks, and dual-mode triggers for ultimate precision.
For more information, head to https://www.xbox.com/en-AU
