Microsoft's new Xbox handhelds – the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X – were revealed over the weekend at the Xbox Games Showcase during Summer Game Fest 2025 after months of rumors, and unsurprisingly, it sounds like Xbox was somewhat inspired by Nintendo and Valve when making them.
Nintendo really opened up a new door for gaming handhelds with the Switch, which was the first console to really go for the "console games on the go" approach (sure there were PS2 and PS3 games on the PSP and Vita, but it didn't quite hit the same). Since that blew up we had Valve step into the ring with the Steam Deck to do the same for PC games, and that's when the floodgates opened.
