Microsoft’s new Xbox interface for Windows-based gaming handhelds will debut next month with the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X. The interface will also appear on other handheld devices next year, starting with the Lenovo Legion Go 2. But it looks like handheld owners won’t have to wait until 2026, as the Xbox full-screen experience can now be enabled on existing Windows-based handheld devices.
Xbox full-screen experience leaked
Yes, the new Xbox full-screen experience appears to have been leaked ahead of the launch of the Xbox-branded Ally handheld device. Windows users can enable the interface on older handheld devices like the ROG Ally and MSI Claw with the help of the Windows 11 25H2 update.
As detailed by ROG Ally users on the ROG Ally subreddit this week, the Windows 11 25H2 update allows older handheld devices to get the full-screen Xbox experience. Windows 11 updates are available as release previews to users of the Windows Insider program.
After installing the update, users should see Settings > Gameswhere they can enable the new interface to launch directly. If users don’t see the new option in Settings, they can see it with some specific tweaks in the Registry Editor. However, they should perform these operations at their own risk, as this may result in a corrupted Windows installation.
ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X launching in October
Image source: Microsoft
Now, some users are reporting that they’re getting the full-screen Xbox experience on their handheld devices early on. Some people have even started testing it, launching ROG Ally and MSI Claw Ai8 directly into the Xbox app. Users also reported improved performance after enabling the new interface; the Xbox full-screen experience keeps certain Windows operations in the background to free up more memory for gaming.
I loaded up the Xbox Full Screen experience on my MSI Claw Ai8 and can confirm that when I use the Xbox Full Screen experience, I save about 1.5GB of memory compared to the regular Windows desktop.
I regret to inform you that even with “Debloated” I still need to tweak it to be more efficient pic.twitter.com/IuCqr6XsJE
— Cary Golomb (@carygolomb) September 17, 2025
Reddit users claimed that they saw a 2x increase in average FPS in the Red Dead Redemption 2 benchmark run on ROG Ally. In less demanding games like Celeste, users claimed that enabling the Xbox interface saw their device’s RAM usage drop from 10.6GB to 9.4GB.
The full-screen Xbox experience will officially debut on ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, launching on October 16th. Microsoft and Asus said the interface will later be available on Asus ROG Ally and Ally X devices, launching in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
After launching the Lenovo Legion Go 2 at the IFA show in Berlin earlier this month, Lenovo said its second-generation Legion Go will be the first handheld device outside of Asus to get the full-screen Xbox experience. The interface will be officially launched on devices in spring 2026.
