Microsoft announced Wednesday during Gamescom 2025 that not only will its Xbox Ally handhelds be released on October 16, but the company is spinning up a new initiative to support optimized gaming on these devices called the Handheld Compatibility Program.
The initiative seems to be similar to Valve's Steam Deck Verified, where Xbox will test games to ensure their compatibility with the new Xbox Ally handhelds. "We have worked with game studios to test, optimize, and verify thousands of games for handheld compatibility, allowing you to jump into the game without having to tweak settings, or requiring only minor adjustments," said Roanne Sones, CVP of Gaming Devices and Ecosystem at Xbox.
The program will be available on release day and users will be able to see handheld compatibility directly in their game libraries. Games will be badged as "Handheld Optimized," indicating games with default controller inputs, appropriate resolution for full-screen play and more. Games badged as "Mostly Compatible" may require minor in-game setting adjustments for an optimal experience on the Xbox Ally handheld.
Microsoft says it will continue to partner with developers to submit their titles for handheld compatibility testing.
In addition to the "Handheld Optimized" badge, games will also be given a Windows Performance Fit indicator of either "Should play great" or "Should play well." Microsoft says these signal "compatibility and performance fit," but really it's anyone's best guess what that means or how it's different from the Handheld Performance badge. We've reached out to Microsoft for additional details and will update if we hear back.
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