The ROG Xbox Ally Can Play PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 Titles, but There is a Catch

With the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X's release date approaching, many fans are eagerly awaiting the day they will be able to play their Xbox games on the go. 

However, the surprising reality for some is the fact that the ROG Xbox Ally is actually capable of much more, and some of these features are not being advertised by Microsoft themselves. This includes the ability to play PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 titles, but only if you either own the consoles or subscribe to PlayStation Plus Premium.

What gets overlooked quite a bit is the fact that the ROG Xbox Ally is in fact a ROG Ally; a handheld PC running on Windows. It is not limited to the Xbox PC platform, and realistically players will be able to download and do just about anything they want with the device. This is simply an Xbox branded model, with some extra power and features behind it. 

That being said, downloading the PlayStation Plus App, the PlayStation Plus Remote Play App, and other tools like Moonlight are not out of the question. By doing this, players can stream their existing PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 consoles to the device, or connect directly to PlayStation's cloud service to play select PlayStation titles; including a handful of PlayStation 3 games as well.

Of course these games cannot be downloaded and played natively on the device, but it effectively allows gamers to make use of the ROG Xbox Ally to play nearly every game they own, on the go, with a single handheld—excluding Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. 

Additionally services like Moonlight allow streaming of other PC titles to the device, without the need to download them. While the ROG Xbox Ally and the X model are both beefy devices, there are still some limitations, and these can be overcome by directly streaming from your PC instead. Microsoft does showcase Xbox Game Pass and its streaming capabilities as well, but it is not the only option out there. Amazon Luna is also a viable solution, with many games included free with a basic Amazon Prime membership.

So with this being said, the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X are both devices capable of doing much more than what Microsoft has shown off, and these "hidden" features alone might be reason enough to look into purchasing one. This is a Windows device, and Windows Apps will run on both models. 

On the other hand the Steam Deck and standard ROG Ally devices exist as well, which provide the same features. There are also plenty of Retro Handhelds on the market as well, all of which offer the same streaming services plus more.