Square Enix and Microsoft Expand Gaming Reach with Xbox ROG Ally Handhelds
REDMOND, Wash. – Sept. 25, 2025 – A new era of portable gaming is dawning as Japanese developers, including Square Enix, embrace the potential of the Xbox ROG Ally handhelds to extend the reach of their titles. This collaboration leverages Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere programme, allowing players to seamlessly transition between PC, console, and now handheld devices with a single game purchase.
The move signifies a natural convergence in strategy between Microsoft and developers like Square Enix, offering players increased flexibility and access to their favorite games. “Handheld devices like the Xbox ROG Ally deliver a wider reach as something that takes the console and PC experience further in a portable way,” explains Kato, a Microsoft representative. “Developers don’t have to create a specific version for it. It’s actually what is on your TV or on your bigger screens, but it’s going to be on a handheld that you can take out and play.”
This expanded accessibility is notably beneficial for players who want to continue gaming experiences started on other platforms. The Xbox Play Anywhere initiative, accessible via Xbox Play Anywhere, allows users to purchase a game once and play it on supported devices.
Square Enix recognizes the potential of this broadened reach, enabling them to design games unbound by specific environments or user bases. “Being flexible and having options is always going to be a benefit to players,” says Hamaguchi of Square Enix. “And for us as a company as well, this is completely in line with our multi-platform strategy. I sense something of a natural convergence or synchronicity in the direction that both of the companies are pursuing.”
The advancement of the Windows PC version of Final Fantasy XVI proved pivotal in opening doors for potential ports to handheld devices. “As Final Fantasy XVI was originally designed with a specific piece of hardware in mind, it wasn’t until we later began work on the windows PC version - and optimizing the game for a variety of unique hardware environments – that the doors to porting the game to other platforms (handhelds included) opened to us,” notes Hiroshi Takai, main director for final Fantasy XVI.
