How to play games from Xbox, Steam, Epic, and other stores on the ROG Xbox Ally

The ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X give you the ultimate in PC gaming flexibility on the go. When you boot the device, it feels just like an Xbox, but underneath, you have the full power of Windows 11, and all the PC games that come with it. That means if you already own games on Steam, Epic Games, or other stores, you can install and play them too – and even integrate them into the Xbox app for one unified, seamless library.

How to play Xbox games on the ROG Xbox Ally

If you already have a library of Xbox games, you’ll see them appear right in the Xbox full screen experience that launches when you first turn on the device. Using the left sidebar you can browse the Xbox Store or Xbox Game Pass libraries, and buy or install games to play right on your handheld.

If a title you already own is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, which will be listed on its store page, you can install it on your ROG Xbox Ally just like you would a PC title from the Xbox store. It will seamlessly sync your game saves and achievements between your Xbox, PC, and Ally for easy pick-up-and-play action.

For any titles that aren’t part of the Play Anywhere program, you’ll be given an option to stream them from the cloud using Xbox Cloud Gaming or from your Xbox using Xbox Remote Play, giving you instant access to a wide variety of games.

How to install Battle.net games on the ROG Xbox Ally

If you’re a longtime user of Blizzard's Battle.net, it’s easy to get those games installed and appearing in your Xbox library as well. You will, however, need to install Battle.net first.

Press the Command Center button on the left side of your device, and select Open Armoury Crate SE from the menu that appears. Use the LB and RB buttons to navigate Armoury Crate SE’s tabs. On the left, you’ll see the library, and under the Game Platforms tab accessible with the right trigger, you can select the Battle.net tile to install the launcher from the Microsoft Store. You may need to use the touch screen to navigate the installation wizard.

Once installed, you can log in with your Battle.net credentials and use the touch screen to browse and install games just like you would on any Windows PC. Once installed, you’ll also find that those games appear in your Xbox library, making it easy to see all your installed games in one easy place.

How to install Steam games on the ROG Xbox Ally

Steam comes pre-installed on the ROG Xbox Ally, so you can launch it and install games right away – and like Battle.net, you won’t even need to leave the Xbox full screen experience. Press the Xbox button on the left side of your device, scroll over to the Home tab, and select the Steam icon. Steam will download and update to the latest version and present you with the login window. (If the login window doesn’t appear, you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen and select it from the Task Switcher.)

Type in your Steam credentials and log in to the service. You’ll be greeted with the familiar Store page of Steam’s Windows client, and you can use the touch screen to purchase games or download ones from your existing Library, just like on any Windows PC. (Steam will also open other Windows, like its new offers and Friends pages, which you can use the Task Switcher to access and close if you so desire.)

Once you’ve installed a game or two, you can launch them from Steam like you normally would. It may take a moment, but you’ll be up and running in no time – with all the resource optimizations that the Xbox full screen experience offers. And you’ll also see those games appear in the Xbox app on the Library tab, so you can access all your games from one place.

How to install Epic, GOG, and other launchers on the ROG Xbox Ally

If you’d like to install a game from another launcher, you need to install it first, just like we did with Battle.net above. Head to Armoury Crate SE from the Command Center and navigate to the Game Platforms tab in the Library. You’ll have options to download and install Epic Games, the EA App, Ubisoft Connect, and GOG Galaxy. Select the launcher you’d like to download and a Microsoft Edge window will appear showing the progress of your download. When it’s finished, tap Open File to begin the installation process for your launcher of choice. You may need to tap through the wizard as you go using the touch screen, if the launcher in question doesn’t have built-in controller support.

Once installed, the launcher will start and the login window should appear, allowing you to log in with your credentials and purchase or install any game you please. And just like Steam, those games will appear in your Xbox Library after installation, so you don’t have to hop from launcher to launcher. Just load up your library and start playing!

Model	Type	Where to Buy (US)	Where to Buy (CA)
ROG Xbox Ally	Handheld PC	ASUS Microsoft Best Buy	ASUS Microsoft Best Buy
ROG Xbox Ally X	Handheld PC	ASUS Microsoft Best Buy	ASUS Microsoft Best Buy
ROG Ally X	Handheld PC	ASUS Best Buy	ASUS Best Buy
ROG Ally (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)	Handheld PC	ASUS Best Buy	ASUS Best Buy Newegg Amazon