Xbox and ASUS have announced the release date for their upcoming ROG Xbox Ally handheld range, although the two companies haven't yet revealed how much the machines will cost you.
As announced in an Xbox Wire blog post, the ROG Xbox Ally, as well as the souped-up Xbox Ally X, will be arriving on October 16th in many places around the world, although territories like Brazil, India, and China will have to wait a little longer.
Somewhat disappointingly, ASUS and Xbox say you'll have to wait to hear more about pricing "in the coming weeks", and those reacting to the announcement on social media seem pretty disappointed that there's no price as well.
Although no official price has been announced, leaks have pointed to a price of around €600 for the base model and €900 for the more powerful Xbox Ally X, which translates to around $700 and $1050, respectively.
Honestly, that's kind of an insane amount of money to expect consumers to pay for a handheld device, especially in the current economic climate, so I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft tries to lower those prices as much as it can for launch.
That may also be why no price has been announced yet; it's possible that Microsoft is still finalizing just how much it can compromise on those prices, since it doesn't want to drive consumers away from what's probably the closest we're going to get to a true blue Xbox handheld.
In any case, as revealed during the summer showcase earlier this year, when the Xbox Ally does launch, you'll be able to access a unified game library that incorporates Xbox, Battle.net, and "other leading PC storefronts", which almost certainly means Steam, GOG, and more.
The ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X both launch on October 16th. Stay tuned for more info on price and pre-order availability.
