Handhelds like ROG Ally have inspired Microsoft to bring Xbox features to PC

The Asus ROG Ally (opens in new tab) is the new hotness in the PC gaming world. This smart little handheld PC is Asus’s answer to Valve’s Steam Deck, with the main difference being that this little unit runs Windows instead of Linux. While the Steam Deck’s cheaper offerings are still a worthwhile get, this combined with a smart price point has rocketed the ROG Ally to the top spot on the portable PC podium (opens in new tab), and Microsoft may be looking to further increase the gap.

Swelockers (opens in new tab) spotted a snippet during the ROG ALLY launch video where Xbox manager Roanne Sones talks about some gaming features we might see coming across to Windows 11. The closed infrastructure of Xbox allows the consoles to make use of some cool features that haven’t yet been ported over to Windows. A lot of these ideas would be perfect for something portable like the Ally, so it makes sense that Microsoft is really starting to look at bringing these across to Windows.