During last week's Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft officially lifted the curtain on its new ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds, which are planned to launch sometime towards the end of the year. But despite being blatantly Xbox-branded, the portable devices will be able to play certain first-party PlayStation games.
As you might have guessed, those "certain" games are the ones that have PC ports. The likes of The Last of Us, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, and more have already made their way to Steam for PC and Steam Deck players to enjoy, but the ROG Xbox Ally's Windows functionality also means they'll work on the upcoming devices.
When Microsoft was asked specifically by Game File if the ROG Xbox Ally devices will be able to run the latest God of War games, a representative confirmed: "Because these handhelds run Windows, you have access to all the games you can play on Windows PCs."
I mean, it makes sense – it'd be kind of weird if the devices, which can otherwise play all Steam games, just said "no" upon trying to launch a PlayStation title. Even so, there's something rather amusing about the idea of seeing first-party blockbusters from one of its greatest rivals appear on a device that "looks like an Xbox, it feels like an Xbox," and also "plays like an Xbox."
It's sort of like seeing Xbox's recent multiplatform strategy – which has seen games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle release on PS5, and Grounded and Pentiment come to both Sony's console and Nintendo Switch – in reverse. More players being able to access certain games is always a positive thing at the end of the day, though – maybe this new platform will get more people to try them for the first time.
