If you thought we left the term “price hike” behind in 2025, think again. Not even three days into 2026, and it looks like we may have our first official price hike, this one coming to ASUS products, including, potentially, the already expensive ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X handhelds released last year.
Additionally, these hikes could come as soon as Monday, January 5th, or roughly 48 hours from now.
As first discovered by Pure Xbox, via a memo sent by ASUS to partners obtained and translated by VideoCardz, the company notes that global demand, largely driven by AI, remains strong but that “volatility” in the global supply chain is putting pressure on component costs.
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However, the challenges posed by allocation and investment costs have left the company at a dead end.
“After carefully reviewing market conditions, supply stability and our commitments to product quality, and while continuing to invest in R&D, ASUS plans to implement strategic price adjustments for certain product combinations starting January 5, 2026,” the note reads in part.
“This adjustment is a necessary decision after absorbing and reacting to cost pressures over an extended period.”
The memo doesn't specifically mention the ROG Ally X, but since ASUS has a variety of gaming-related products, it's fair to speculate that these price increases could affect the line. And given the sheer amount of price increases in gaming up to this point, it wouldn't be unprecedented either.
Gaming was hit hard by price increases in 2025, and things aren't likely to end there
In mid-April, Sony announced that the PlayStation 5 would see a price increase in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, taking the five-year-old console from a suggested retail price (RRP) of €399.99 to €499.99. That increase came after Sony separately announced that PlayStation Plus was getting a price hike.
PS5 prices in the US eventually followed in late August.
Across the aisle, Xbox raised the price of its consoles by at least $100, before finally also increasing the cost of Game Pass in a separate move. At one point, Microsoft even toyed with the idea of releasing the second modern $80 game, though it scrapped at the last minute.
For its part, Nintendo has said it has no immediate plans to raise the price of its recently released Switch 2 console. The company argued that major changes or external factors could force its hand in the future.
Things don't stop there either, as RAM costs have skyrocketed, along with even small things like high-capacity MicroSD cards. GPUs are reportedly next in line for price hikes, and the PlayStation 6 and next Xbox could be delayed in the wake of all this.
Which is to say, if the ROG Xbox Ally or any other ASUS gaming product sees a price increase, then it's really just par for the course.
- Stamp
-
Xbox / ROG
- Operating system
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Windows 11 Home
- Processor
-
AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor
- Show
-
7″ IPS, 500 nits, 16:9, 120Hz refresh rate, FreeSync Premium, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus + DXC Anti-Reflection
- Resolution
-
FHD 1080p
- Original release date
-
2025
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