ROG Xbox Ally X Pre-Orders Have Already Sold Out

With only three weeks to go until the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are released, Xbox finally caved on Thursday and revealed the prices for its upcoming ASUS handheld devices. The Xbox Ally X costs $999.99, which might be why Xbox was reluctant to reveal the price. However, despite that lofty price point, the more expensive model has already sold out.

I noticed the Xbox Ally X was unavailable through the Microsoft Store and assumed it was either a mistake or pre-orders for the more expensive model simply hadn't gone live yet. Turns out I was wrong to assume that. The Xbox Ally X, which, again, costs $999.99, really has sold out just hours after Xbox finally revealed the price and opened pre-orders for the device.

Turns Out People Might Be Willing To Pay $1,000 For This Thing After All

Turns out it's not just in the US either. "The hype is real! ROG Xbox Ally X preorders are sold out on the Xbox Store worldwide," Xbox proudly tweeted, noting that pre-orders for the handheld device are still available from local retailers. I can confirm, at the time of typing this, that the Xbox Ally X is still in stock at Best Buy, but I can't promise that will be the case by the time you read this.

While surprising and impressive, some people aren't buying it. Not the Xbox Ally X - lots of people are buying that, apparently - but the claim that pre-orders have already sold out. The replies to Xbox's boastful post are filled with people accusing Microsoft's gaming arm of intentionally making pre-orders for the $1,000 model of its handheld device scarce.

What's the point of that, you ask? Well, people who were on the fence about picking up an Xbox Ally X, potentially deterred by the price, might see how well it's selling and decide that they need one after all. Others who are undecided on whether or not to spend that much, but assumed they'd be able to pick one up whenever, assuming they weren't going to sell out, will now jump at the chance to buy one the next time they become available.

The pre-order sellout might also fool scalpers into thinking this is a high-demand product and, therefore, when the next batch becomes available, they'll be snapped up right away. Xbox would never admit it wants scalpers to be the ones buying its products, of course, but after the critique it has received for charging so much, as long as the devices are selling, I can't imagine Microsoft will mind all that much.

The Xbox Ally X isn't gone for good, of course. There will be more available, although at present, it's unclear if you will now have to wait until after the device is released on October 16 to buy it directly from Xbox. If you don't mind which model you get, the cheaper $599.99 Xbox Ally is still available from the Microsoft Store and various other retailers.