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Despite no sign of a Switch 2 launch for this year’s Call Of Duty, Activision swears it’s still working on bringing its flagship shooter series to Nintendo fans.

Back when Microsoft was trying to push through its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, one of its key arguments was that the buyout would allow for the Call Of Duty games to be released on Nintendo hardware.

Microsoft even signed a 10-year deal to bring the series to the then unannounced Nintendo Switch 2, promising future games would launch on Nintendo’s platform the same day as the Xbox and PlayStation versions, and ‘with full feature and content parity.’

And yet Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7, the first new entry in a post-Switch 2 world, is not scheduled to launch for Nintendo’s console. We’re clearly not the only one to notice this oddity as Activision has felt the need to clarify that it does intend to follow through on Microsoft’s promises.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Activision is keeping exact details to a minimum, only telling Eurogamer that ‘We’re committed to getting the franchise on Switch. Both teams [are] working on it. Will share details when ready.’

This leaves it vague as to whether Black Ops 7 will be first in line for a Switch 2 port at a later date or whether Activision will prioritise bringing its backlog to the platform. Either way, it’s not exactly the simultaneous day one support Microsoft initially promised.

It’s also unclear if Activision intends on bringing the Call Of Duty games to the original Switch, but that seems unwise. Modern Call Of Duty games are graphically demanding, so they’d be better suited to the more powerful Switch 2.

Activision’s statement comes after Kotaku also reported that Microsoft and Nintendo are still planning on getting Call Of Duty on Nintendo hardware, with an announcement coming in the future.

It may be that Nintendo wants any sort of announcement reserved for one of its Nintendo Directs, rather than an Xbox showcase. A new Nintendo Direct is expected later this month, since the company typically holds one in June, although nothing formal has been confirmed by Nintendo.

Whether there’s actually any demand for Call Of Duty on Switch 2 remains to be seen and it was very obvious that Microsoft’s comments during the Activision Blizzard acquisition (which included newspaper ads and advertising on the Tube) was purely for their own benefit.

Call Of Duty games have appeared on Nintendo consoles plenty of times before, including the GameCube, Wii, and Wii U – as well as no less than five entries on the DS handheld.

The reason there’s no Call Of Duty on the Switch seems to be simply because previous entries haven’t sold particularly well on Nintendo formats, and so it was no longer worth the effort of trying to port them.

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MORE: Xbox boss vows Switch 2 support again but there’s still no sign of it

MORE: Call Of Duty is losing players faster than ever despite Xbox Game Pass

MORE: Persona 4 remake, Keeper, High On Life 2 and the best of Xbox Games Showcase

The key launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2 is already the most controversial Mario Kart ever but is it a bad game or merely misunderstood?

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is one of the very few games we’ve ever given a 10/10 score. That’s not something we regret either, especially after the extremely generous Booster Course DLC that made it the definitive version of the original Mario Kart formula. That does make it a very difficult act to follow but the idea of making the next game an open world title seemed an excellent new direction to take the series, and yet curiously that’s the only part of Mario Kart World that doesn’t entirely work.

Thanks to Nintendo not sending out review units of the Nintendo Switch 2 more than a day before launch we’ve previously only been able to do a review in progress of World, during which it became clear that it is not quite the game that many imagined. The open world is huge and incredibly well designed but it’s very poorly utilised, with lots of hidden secrets and yet nothing of substance to gain from them.

The open world also has surprisingly little impact on race modes, with the option to explore it separately reduced to an easily missed aside on the title screen or a brief time waster while you’re waiting for the online lobby to fill up. The open world has many positive elements, but it feels strangely underdeveloped for a Nintendo game, especially a vitally important launch title. Although the most curious thing is that this potentially fatal flaw doesn’t really matter.

How is Mario Kart World different from Mario Kart 8?

Everyone knows what Mario Kart is and how it works. Its simplicity is one of its core appeals and World is sensible enough not to mess with that, with its biggest new control addition being a charge jump that is quite hard to use, since you can’t steer while powering it up.

The new wall ride move – essentially wall running but in a car – is also tricky to pull off, and often needs a charge jump to begin, so this is definitely still a game of skill, no matter what you tell yourself between gritted teeth, when being blue-shelled right at the finish line.

There are a few new power-ups, with the golden shell that trails coins and the return of the jump-enhancing feather being amongst the most potent, but none of them are game-changers. What does make a massive difference though is the fact that there’s now 24 drivers on the track at once – twice as many as the previous maximum.

This works both online and off and completely changes the energy of the game, so that no matter where you are in the pack there’s always plenty of people around you. When the majority are all in one spot the absolute carnage of exploding bombs, shells, and other power-ups is a joy to behold – even if you come off the worse from it.

The greater number of racers has led to many, but not all, tracks being much wider than usual. Ignoring the fact that many power-ups have homing abilities, the game avoids the action becoming too spread out by adding neutral traffic to most tracks and various enemies that will target anyone that comes near, from giant Boom Booms spinning their arms to a truck firing Bullet Bills at you.

At the same time, there are a lot more shortcuts than previous Mario Kart tracks, from simple grind rails (everything from electricity pylons to train tracks) to cunningly hidden routes that you only notice when the impressively capable AI uses it, either by disappearing off track or suddenly appearing out of nowhere beside you.

The core gameplay hasn’t changed on a fundamental level – if it did it wouldn’t be Mario Kart anymore – but the differences are far more marked than any previous game, and certainly more so than the anti-gravity gimmick that Mario Kart 8 gave up on halfway through its DLC.

How does the open world work in Mario Kart World?

How all this interacts with the open world is not obvious at first. All of the tracks in World, whether they’re linear or looped, take place within a section of the open world but when you’re playing the traditional Grand Prix mode this is barely noticeable, except for a brief segue between one track and the next.

Grand Prix works exactly the same as ever, with four tracks to a cup and points awarded for where you rank, but the fact that so many of the tracks are linear point-to-point races gives it a very different feel. Point-to-point races aren’t new for Mario Kart but since there’s so many in World it makes everything feel very different. You’re no longer watching the same scenery going round time and again, with many tracks seeing major changes in backdrops and obstacles as they progress.

A lot of the tracks are named after classic ones but something like Choco Mountain is only similar to the original N64 version for a very brief section, while the rest of the course riffs on the idea with giant lakes of sticky chocolate and pumps that spray it into the air. Meanwhile, other brand new tracks only actually get to the landmark they’re named after in the final third or quarter of the race.

There’s also lots of sections based on (but not in) water, which use physics clearly inspired by the classic Wave Race 64. These feel wonderful to race on, especially when you crest a wave and do a jump at the top for a little extra boost. Likewise, you no longer have a hang-glider attached but instead your kart sprouts wings when in the air and you can now glide much further.

The racing is absolutely top notch and even within the confines of Grand Prix feels very different to Mario Kart 8. Not necessarily better but while people will have their preferences for one or the other they really do feel like equals, doing similar but different things. And that’s quite an achievement for a 33-year-old franchise with a premise as straightforward as Mario Kart.

What is Knockout Tour in Mario Kart World?

Although Grand Prix is in every Mario Kart game the other main mode for World is brand new: Knockout Tour. This sees you racing across six consecutive tracks, but where you have to reach a certain position before being allowed to proceed to the next, or you’re out of the race. So, for example, if you don’t place in the top 20 in the first race that’s it, you’ve lost.

This is not only wonderfully tense and exciting (the first time you win is euphoric!) but it makes better use of the open world, in that you can actually see your progress across the map much more clearly. In terms of other modes, you’ve also got Time Trials and Battle, as well as a revamped VS Race. This allows for a lot more customisation than usual, including separating the difficulty of the AI from the speed class.

All of what we’ve described so far is fantastic, with the only real niggle being the strange way in which characters are unlocked, with new costumes linked to a new power-up that you collect from drive-ins on some tracks. New karts are unlocked simply by collecting coins, while generic background and enemy characters, from a Chargin’ Chuck to a dolphin, are only obtained when someone else happens to turn you into one when using the new Kamek power-up.

What’s wrong with the open world in Mario Kart World?

World has a distinct lack of satisfying unlockables and this is especially true of Free Roam mode. Despite the way it’s been used in-game, the open world is incredibly well designed. Just earlier, we were pootling about in Wario Stadium and there’s a whole roof area, with pipes and grind rails, that the race doesn’t even hint at. Every track is like that, with the open world filled with intricately designed layouts that you can only really appreciate when outside of a race.

The problem is, that while there are secrets to discover they only come in three forms: a ? panel, which you just drive over; a medallion, that you merely collect; and a P-switch, which activates a simple mission that half the time is collect eight blue coins but is sometimes something more unique, like an impromptu checkpoint race.

This is fine but quickly gets repetitive and is made far worse by the fact that the only reward for any of the three activities is a tiny little sticker that you can place on your kart but is often almost impossible to see. There are hundreds of these stickers, but you only have to look at the leaderboard in online mode, where the sticker is also displayed, to see that most people have never even used them and are still on the default.

Imagine if Nintendo had made the open world for Zelda: Breath Of The Wild but the only things you could do in it were the main story missions and looking for Koroks – and even then with only three different puzzles. It’s baffling that Nintendo has created such an amazing world and left it so underutilised, but there’s no story mode, no dialogue of any kind, and no complex missions.

Many have speculated that things like that will be added later via DLC but ignoring the fact that you’d have a better chance of predicting the lottery than you would second-guessing Nintendo, it’s hard to understand why they’ve left it in such a half-formed state at launch. If there is a firm plan to populate it over time then Nintendo really should’ve said, but they’ve done nothing of the sort.

All of which presents us with a problem, when it comes to scoring the game for review. Do you knock points from a game for something it doesn’t do, when the rest of it is so entertaining and unique? The open world isn’t broken and its relative emptiness isn’t a flaw, it’s just something that was originally assumed to be the main focus but is in reality merely a minor side feature.

Despite all its many positives, including excellent graphics and a stunning soundtrack – that includes seemingly endless numbers of classic Super Mario remixes – Mario Kart World is never going to enjoy the same unequivocally positive acclaim as its predecessors.

That’s perfectly understandable, but we can’t ignore the fact that we’ve enjoyed every moment of our time with the game, especially with the races but even including the open world. There’s much, much more that could be done with Mario Kart World but even if it doesn’t change one iota from now until the Switch 3, it’s still one of the best entries the series has ever seen.

Formats: Nintendo Switch 2
Price: £74.99 (physical) or £66.99 (digital)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EPD
Release Date: 5th June 2025
Age Rating: 3

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The Tuesday letters page thinks Mario Kart World is a worthy follow-up to Mario Kart 8, as a reader wonders who the main characters are in Resident Evil Requiem.

To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Lighter price
I’m glad that the majority of people seem to be happy with the Switch 2, and that the console seems to be selling well. Nintendo may have their issues but for me gaming would be dead without them and I increasingly worry about their vulnerability, as more and more money is thrown around by Microsoft and others.

That said, I have not bought a Switch 2 yet and am unlikely to be able to afford it this year. Although I’m not as upset about this as I thought I would be, now that it’s become clear that Mario Kart World is really the only launch game of interest.

Some readers have written in about how they’d like there to be a more expensive version with an OLED version. Personally though, I’m waiting for a Switch 2 Lite. I assume there will be one, and I do tend to use the original Switch mostly in handheld mode, plus it will obviously be cheaper.

The original Switch Lite came out over two years after the original, so by my calculations that should mean a Switch 2 Lite by Christmas 2027. Of course, Nintendo may choose to do things differently this time, but I hope it happens as soon as possible, because it’s my best chance for being able to afford one.
Oskar Barvo

Did not want
My Switch 2 arrived from Amazon on Thursday night, and I am very happy with it. It is very much an upgraded Switch but that is what I wanted and expected.

I have got a good few hours in on Mario Kart World over the weekend and for the most part am loving it so far. Knockout Tour online is the real standout mode. What I didn’t expect was how genuinely different to Mario Kart 8 the game feels with 24 players and wider tracks, in a good way I should say. I can see myself still playing Mario Kart 8 online alongside World, as they are two quite different experiences.

I do feel that the free roam in World feels largely pointless though and I will happily ignore it to focus on races. Also, where is Diddy Kong!
Pigfish2 (NN ID/PSN ID)

GC: Hopefully in retirement.

Live orchestra
Game Inbox, I’ve just finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Wow. Give that game all the Gommage red flowers. Not only am I looking forward to it winning game of the year across the board, surely, but more so, The Game Awards puts on a huge live version of the Game of the Year main score at the ceremony each year.

Imagine the Clair Obscur theme on the big stage! The music is as much a character as any other in that game. Wonderful all round.
Mr K

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Grace under pressure
Count me as someone that thought the Summer Game Fest this year was unbearably boring. I mean, they usually are but at least there’s usually some good reveals as well, but this time all we got was Resident Evil Requiem.

That saved things but of course it’s never enough and now I want to know more, especially in terms of the main characters. Is it going to be just Grace? She’s the only one in the artwork but that could easily be a red herring.

I’ve seen a lot of rumours that Leon or Jill are in the game but I don’t know how likely that is to be true, and it could just be cameos, like Chris in the last two. I’ll be fine with Grace to be honest. She seemed interesting and we’ve just had a Leon game.
Tsumi

Size matters
The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds (surely it should have been an Xbox Ally S and X?) do look intriguing. They’re certainly setting some lofty expectations with that new version of Windows 11, but I did note that there was a big mix of aspirational statements mixed in with the guarantees of what you’re going to get. Pick up and play console experience was mentioned but only in reference to what people want, not what it will be. At least they’re aiming on the right direction.

The physical changes to the ROG Ally I’m less convinced about though. They seem to be going with the same approach as PlayStation Portal, by using the shape of a regular controller, but that’s arguably the biggest issue with the portal. These devices are much heavier and wider than a controller. So when you’re lying in bed trying to hold the thing in one hand, your fingers need to stretch as far into the thing as possible. On the portal the thick ends really limit this, and the Xbox Ally looks like it’s doing the same thing.

Also, a shame it’s a 7 inch screen. I really like the size of the 8 inch on the Portal.
Tim

The hottest of takes
So I’m still thinking about that reveal of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and the overall Xbox Showcase, as a whole. It was quite a mixed bag in my opinion. It was lovely to see the reveal of Persona 4 Revival, all 10 seconds of it. Because we can’t have nice things. So here is a lacklustre reveal that was just dumped on us with no fanfare. It didn’t actually look any different to the original adaptation. Maybe we’ll see more soon.

Cronos looks fantastic and I’m positive to say that it will run awfully on PC. Bloober Team are notoriously horrific for developing PC ports; Silent Hill 2 remake is a prime example. Who did honestly ask for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7? The people asked for Silksong as a show closer and a release date but we received Call Of Duty instead. Who asked for this?

Of course the reveal that everyone’s talking about is the ROG Xbox Ally. I’d like to ask GC if there’s much marginal difference between this version and the original ROG Ally X? Because I own the original and it just seems the same copy only with improved hardware and an Xbox button. Is it just the same model basically? Like the Ally X Pro? Obviously, the price is yet to be determined but that’s my consensus on the matter thus far.
Shahzaib Sadiq
PS: Xbox Games are on PlayStation and Game Pass can already be accessed on Windows handheld devices. So what’s the difference?

GC: We’re still stuck on your first question, implying Call Of Duty is not popular. The ROG Ally and ROG Ally X are slightly different devices, but there seems to be only minor differences between them and their Xbox branded equivalents.

Priceless download
I think the worst thing about Welcome Tour is that it not being pre-installed on the Switch 2, like Astro’s Playroom, has blunted the praise the Mario kart World bundle should be getting.

Having the next game in line to the biggest selling game on the previous system ready for launch and offering it at half price when bought with the new system is pretty unique as far as console launches go.

Instead, everyone is just complaining Welcome Tour should be free.
Simundo

GC: If Welcome Tour was free you’d be tempted to play it so, really, Nintendo is doing everyone a favour by charging for it.

Imperfect sequel
Comparisons with Mario Kart 8 are inevitable. Nintendo were never going to better that what in many ways is the perfect video game, and undoubtedly the greatest racer of all time. But the question for me, and perhaps everyone, is whether the inevitable follow-up would at least justify a new entry. And with what they deliver with Mario Kart World the answer is an emphatic yes.

More of the same but different, with the new additions more than mere novelty, which the anti-gravity elements of Mario Kart 8 were in a way. The Knockout Tour mode and the seamless segues between races are a revelation and a genuine improvement on everything that came before.

I’ve played Mario Kart 8 numerous times, enough to appreciate the nuanced changes to gameplay that makes the new iteration feel fresh, vitalising even, and, crucially, just as rewarding. The wider tracks to accommodate 24 racers requiring fewer skills to navigate are proportionate to the additional challenges the competition engenders, with hairpin turns and narrow sections interspersed between them are just as demanding as the tightest of tracks from Mario Kart 8.

If anything, World is a more challenging game: harder in degrees to come first, especially in Knockout Tour mode, with notable improvements in AI. Playing online against human competitors is exhausting and exhilarating, also humbling (although a did come fourth on my second attempt, I didn’t make the top 16 on my first, so maybe that was a fluke – I’m honing my skill before embarking on a third attempt).

It’s a beautiful game, jaw dropping not so much in how it appears but in the sheer number of things happening on screen at any one time with not a moment of lag. In this, if nothing else, Mario Kart World is a perfect demonstration of next generation capabilities. I can’t wait to see what else they do with this amazing technology.

The free roaming is certainly undercooked, but this seems purposeful to whatever DLC is likely to follow and not something that I feel at this stage Nintendo can negatively be judged for. After all, Mario Kart 8 was not born but became a 10 out 10.

Mario Kart World isn’t perfect. Nothing is. It isn’t ‘better’ than Mario Kart 8 but judged on its own terms, with the template it establishes and trajectory it evidently maps, World is still nevertheless 8’s equal.

GameCentral predicted a 9 out 10. That sounds about right for now. But sometimes a right is a wrong: there’s every reason for having faith in Nintendo that World will become better over time. Perfection is already personified in the new Rainbow Road, a series best that for me may just about warrant that 10 out of 10 score here and now and forever more.
Ciara

GC: We said an 8 or a 9.

Inbox also-rans
I’m convinced Silksong is a scam and does not exist in any way. However, I can’t think of any benefit for this being true so can I just say: please hurry up!
GlassSmasher

I thought the Xbox Games Showcase was pretty good but it was also pretty much only third party games. Even with all these companies Microsoft has bought and they still can’t put out anything of interest.
Snoopy

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Does Mario Kart World have the best Nintendo soundtrack?

MORE: Games Inbox: What are your Nintendo Switch 2 first impressions?

MORE: Games Inbox: When will there be Nintendo Switch 2 console reviews?

Unofficial figures point to the Nintendo Switch 2 being far more successful than expected, but Nintendo themselves are not saying anything.

Given how difficult it was to pre-order, and reports of retailers running out of stock for the midnight launch, it’s safe to assume the Nintendo Switch 2 has been a big success.

However, there’s no official confirmation of exactly how well it’s sold, at least not from Nintendo. The closest thing is a comment from Currys, which said it sold 30,000 units in the UK at launch.

That’s only one retailer in one region, but alleged sales numbers have begun floating around which, if accurate, point to the Switch 2 having the biggest launch of any video game console ever.

This is something analysts predicted over a month ago, although Nintendo itself lowballed its own sales predictions, with the goal being to sell just slightly more than the Switch 1 managed in its launch year.

Over the weekend, YouTuber Nintendo Prime claimed that the Switch 2 managed over three million units in its first 24 hours, which would be an incredible feat if accurate.

Even the PlayStation 2, the world’s best-selling console, couldn’t manage that, while the current record holder for most units sold in its first 24 hours being the PlayStation 4, at over one million.

Nintendo Prime says he’s heard these figures from three separate sources and he’s only willing to identify one of them: Paul Gale of gaming news site Paul Gale Network.

Similarly, Pierre485 on X, who primarily shares games sales data, recently posted how the Switch 2 is doing very well in France – which has always been one of Nintendo’s biggest markets in Europe.

At over 200,000 units sold, it’s the fastest selling console ever in the country (almost double that of the PlayStation 5) and has generated over €130 million (approximately £109.5 million) in four days.

However, Pierre485 does stress that this should be treated as a rumour until official figures are shared by Nintendo of France.

There’s currently no telling when Nintendo will consider sharing its own sales data, but if things are going this well, the company is bound to brag about it sooner rather than later.

If it has gone well then it will be a relief for Nintendo that US tariffs have not had too negative an effect and that complaints about pricing, especially for Mario Kart World, have not resulted in people staying away.

Ahead of launch, Nintendo admitted US tariffs stood to harm potential profits and if it increased the price of console in response to the tariffs (which it didn’t), it would risk a drop in sales.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

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For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 games list – everything you can play right now

MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour review – the dullest Nintendo game ever made

MORE: I’ve had the Nintendo Switch 2 for one day and I’m not impressed – Reader’s Feature

If you’ve yet to invest in a handheld PC, GameCentral takes a look at the new Xbox portable and what advantages it has over its rivals.

After months of teasing, and rumblings of a dedicated Xbox handheld device, Microsoft finally unveiled two new devices during the Xbox Games Showcase this weekend.

As was rumoured, these devices come not from Microsoft itself but Asus which is already responsible for its own Asus ROG Ally handheld PC. Which is why these devices are dubbed the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X.

With Microsoft still working on a separate portable device (which rumours say has been delayed internally), these Asus products will be the next best thing for those who want to enjoy Xbox games on the go.

Despite what you might imagine, the portable PC market is incredibly niche in the grand scheme of things, with sales that pale compared to eventhe Xbox Series X/S. That’s primarily because of the price but also the complexity involved in getting PC games to work on a portable.

While it’ll be a while before anyone can go hands on with the new devices (they’re slated to launch sometime this Christmas), Microsoft has already shared details on the ROG Xbox Ally – including technical specs – meaning we can compare and contrast with the most popular PC handhelds already on the market.

ROG Xbox Ally vs. Asus ROG Ally

First things first, is the ROG Xbox Ally any better than the Asus ROG Ally that you can already buy? Not particularly, no, but that’s unsurprising when it’s essentially the same device but with Xbox branding.

It technically has a different processor – the AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor – but from what we can tell, it doesn’t sound that much more powerful than the Asus ROG Ally’s AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Processor. Both devices also have the same 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space for games.

That said, the Xbox handheld does sport better battery capacity, since it comes with a 60Wh (watt hours) battery compared to the Asus ROG Ally’s 40Wh battery.

It’s also notably bigger and heavier (670g compared to 608g), which might be due to it sporting contoured grips akin to the Xbox controller. We’d need to hold it ourselves to tell but, theoretically, this should make it more comfortable to use than the blockier looking Asus ROG Ally.

So far, it seems the only reason to pick a ROG Xbox Ally over the current one is to more easily access your library of Xbox games, with the new device featuring a lot more setting and features to facilitate that.

Xbox is promising first-of-their-kind features for the handheld, including ‘an immersive Xbox full screen experience [and] an aggregated gaming library with access to installed games from leading PC storefronts.’

As for the ROG Xbox Ally X, it’s also similarbut a more powerful iteration that uses an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor. This comes along with more storage space (1TB) and a stronger battery (80Wh), though it’s also larger and heavier at 715g.

This makes it almost identical to the existing Asus ROG Ally X, which boasts the same storage space and battery and is itself just a stronger version of the Asus ROG Ally.

While Microsoft hasn’t shared official prices, its two Xbox devices will cost more or less the same as the currently available Asus ones. The Asus ROG Ally costs £599, in the UK, while the Asus ROG Ally X costs £799, although both have options for bigger and more expensive storage.

ROG Xbox Ally vs Lenovo Legion Go

Moving onto the first non-Asus competitor, the differences between the Lenovo Legion Go and the Xbox handheld appear small as well. The Lenovo Legion Go also uses the AMD Ryzen Z1 for its processor, both devices run on Windows 11, and they both have 512GB of storage that can be upgraded.

The Lenovo Legion Go does have less battery capacity at 49.2Wh, but it’s lighter at 640g and while it lacks the contoured grips of the ROG Xbox Ally, its controllers can detach like the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Cons.

In fact, one advantage the Lenovo Legion Go has is its variety of play options. It has a dedicated mode for first person shooter games (albeit one that requires a controller base that’s sold separately) and can be docked so you can play it through a PC monitor or TV. Although considering existing Asus handhelds can be connected to the TV, we have to assume the Xbox ones will too.

There is AR functionality on the Legion Go through the Legion Glasses device but that’s too niche to be considered a drastic advantage over Xbox.

It’s also very easy to get Xbox Game Pass set up on the Legion Go – in fact, the app comes pre-installed – so it’s not like the Xbox handheld is the only way of accessing Game Pass titles on a portable.

However, the Legion Go is the more expensive of the two options, and goes for £699. There is a cheaper version called the Legion Go S, that’s sold at £600 though, which honestly looks more comfortable to use thanks to its curved design, but it is less powerful and has less storage space.

ROG Xbox Ally vs. Steam Deck

The Steam Deck is undoubtedly the most popular portable PC on the market (although it’s still only sold around 4 million units worldwide), so will the ROG Xbox Ally offer any significant competition? Upon comparing the two, probably not.

Not only is neither device more powerful than the other, since they use very similar processors, but they’re roughly the same size and weight as well. The most noteworthy differences we can spot is that the Steam Deck has a weaker battery (40Wh) and less storage space (256GB).

However, this makes the Steam Deck cheaper, at £349, and while there is an iteration of the Steam Deck with a better battery, that matches the ROG Xbox Ally’s 512GB of storage, it’s still significantly cheaper at £479. Even the Steam Deck with 1TB of storage space costs less at £569.

One downside is that Xbox Game Pass is fiddly to set up on Steam Deck and with Microsoft promising that its handheld will allow for ‘quick access to games from Xbox, Game Pass, Battle.net, and other leading PC storefronts,’ it sounds like you’ll be able to easily access the Steam storefront and purchase and play games through Valve’s launcher.

Is the ROG Xbox Ally worth it?

All in all, it seems the only real advantage for owning the ROG Xbox Ally is convenience. There’s a chance it will be more comfortable to hold during play sessions than its competitors, but it appears no more powerful than other portable PCs.

The aggregated Xbox library feature should be useful but the Xbox Play Anywhere system is, by its nature, available on many other devices.

The real deciding factor will be whatever price Microsoft settles on. Like we said, the Asus ROG Ally and Asus ROG Ally X are £599 and £799 respectively, making the Steam Deck a far more enticing option for anyone still on the fence about joining the portable PC community.

It’s not impossible that Microsoft will aim for a slightly lower price point and absorb some of the cost, but we doubt it since the ROG Xbox Ally isn’t technically Microsoft’s own hardware and that may undermine the other Asus handhelds being sold.

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