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Microsoft's new handheld gaming mode, exclusive to ROG Xbox Ally, has just leaked for every handheld running Windows 11 — all you need is the 25H2 update and a few registry tweaks
Earlier this year, Microsoft and Asus announced the ROG Xbox Ally, an update to the first-gen ROG Ally, now adorned with Xbox branding. Along with the new name came new specs, but more importantly, the Xbox partnership wasn’t just a token collaboration — rather, a deeply integrated experience finally meant to "fix" Windows on handheld devices. Hence, the ROG Xbox Ally would ship with a new full-screen Xbox app that it would boot into by default, superseding Windows 11 entirely. This was exclusive to the ROG Xbox Ally and was supposed to come to other handhelds later; however, it seems the opposite has happened.
The Verge's Tom Warren reports that the full-screen Xbox experience meant for ROG Xbox Ally devices has leaked early, and can now be installed on any handheld running Windows. The actual ROG Xbox Ally is set to launch next month, which means that everyone else will get to enjoy Microsoft's new handheld gaming mode before the very device that was set to debut it. There's a full guide on Reddit that breaks down how to install it, and it's relatively easy to follow as long as you know your way around Windows. If you have a regular Ally, Lenovo's Legion Go, or the myriad of PC handhelds out there, you should be eligible.
The only requirement for this to work is the 25H2 Windows 11 update, for which you need to be part of the Windows Insider program. The build resides in the Release Preview channel, so once you've got that going, there are a few registry edits you need to make if you don't see the "Enter full-screen experience on start up" toggle right away. After all is said and done, a restart should boot you directly into the new Xbox experience, where all your favorite games should be consolidated into one place — including stores like Steam, Epic Games, and Battle.net.
The full-screen handheld mode is still based on Windows 11, just running without any of the extra stuff that hogs up resources in the background. It should use less memory, and the UI should be a lot more handheld-friendly. Windows Central tested the update on an original ROG Ally and saw marked improvements across the board in terms of performance—going from 29 FPS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider to 38 FPS—and even an extra hour gained in battery life. These upgrades mostly come courtesy of disabling unnecessary background processing and startup apps, not some significant underlying change to the Windows kernel itself.
New Xbox Ally Windows 11 features TESTED on the last gen ROG Ally - YouTube
It's important to note that you're not locked into the full-screen experience either; the ability to Alt-Tab out of apps and go into the regular desktop environment is still there. That being said, Microsoft itself recommends using mouse and keyboard for that since it's not designed for handhelds.
Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.
Either the leak was inevitable, these things always happen,
Or the experience was planned to be on all devices anyways so it was coming. Its the future Microsoft has planned. It just came sooner. It's like saying AMD Zen 6. We know AMD is gonna release a Zen 6 and Apple an M5. These things are on their way.
It is cool to see Microsoft competing. They haven't had competition in generations.
Or the experience was planned to be on all devices anyways so it was coming.
It was always planned to expand post launch of the Xbox Ally handhelds next year (originally Xbox Ally > Ally/X > 2026 general availability). If I'm remembering correctly the one thing it does for the Asus devices that it might not on others is replace the hardware control software. While these use a small amount of resources every little bit counts for handhelds.
This wasn't a leak, it was always the plan. The Beta version in the 25h2 update is not the same version that will be available for windows handheld devices. Those version will need to be optimized by OEM's and those optimized versions will be released by OEM updates in the form of a firmware update, not thru windows update
This wasn't a leak, it was always the plan. The Beta version in the 25h2 update is not the same version that will be available for windows handheld devices. Those version will need to be optimized by OEM's and those optimized versions will be released by OEM updates in the form of a firmware update, not thru windows update
Where did you hear that? Or is it just a guess. Seriously just asking not hating.
Where did you hear that? Or is it just a guess. Seriously just asking not hating.
It was literally announced right after the "xbox handhelds" were announced as long as you weren't mesmerized by the shiny bs. They just aren't as vocal because it literally gives no reason to by an xbox branded handheld really.
