We’re fresh off the launch of the Xbox Ally X, and it doesn’t look like portable gaming PCs are going away anytime soon. At least for me, mobile has become my favorite way to play my Steam library – among other PC game stores – when I’m not at my desk. In many ways, these little devices have replaced most of what I used gaming laptops for, especially when commuting to work or taking a tiny trip.
Which makes me wonder: why would you buy a gaming laptop in 2025 when handheld PC gaming devices are becoming more powerful and more portable every year? If you’re just looking for an alternative device to play games on the go, the prospects for gaming laptops seem to be dwindling. But now that portable gaming PCs are getting more and more exorbitant, it’s once again becoming harder to draw a clear line.
Portable gaming computers have come a long way
Portable gaming computers are nothing novel. Depending on who you ask, you can trace Pandora’s design back to 2010 – a Linux handheld that wasn’t much bigger than a Nintendo DS – but the Steam Deck is currently responsible for the explosion in more popular portable PC devices. After all, it was affordable and had a user-friendly experience that didn’t require you to have any navigational expertise.
In the three years or so since Steam Deck’s release, it seems like every major computer manufacturer has jumped at the opportunity to create their own handheld gaming machines. However, since a company like Lenovo can’t subsidize hardware costs with software sales like Valve does, these other devices are more exorbitant than the Deck.
No matter which contemporary notebook you choose, you can still play almost any game on it, as long as you limit your expectations when it comes to graphics quality. You don’t have to lug around a ponderous gaming laptop to spend some time playing Path of Exile 2 on the go.
Pricing problem
But gaming laptops aren’t just bulkier than handhelds – they’re also typically more exorbitant. Even though devices like the Xbox Ally X and Legion Go 2 are dismissed due to their high prices, gaming laptops have always been quite exorbitant. Even entry-level devices like the Acer Nitro V currently start at around $900, with an RTX 5050 and a Core i7 processor. And that’s it low-end. High-end gaming laptops can be much, much more exorbitant.
Our favorite gaming laptop right now is the Razer Blade 16, which is a premium device that looks like a stylish MacBook Pro. But this slim design comes with a hefty price tag, starting at $1,899 for the RTX 5060 – significantly more exorbitant than even the Legion Go 2. You can also upgrade this laptop to the RTX 5090 if you’re willing to spend $4,499. Honestly, this will be a much more powerful device than any portable device currently on the market and likely for many years to come.
Pocket computers, on the other hand, were initially intended to be additional devices that we used in addition to desktop computers or laptops for gaming – that’s how I utilize mine. Steam Deck made selling much easier. I purchased the Steam Deck on launch day for $529, which came with a 256GB SSD. Is it as proficient as my computer? Hell no, but I mainly utilize it to play Ball x Pit in bed and listen to a podcast. You can also substitute any recent gaming PC in this equation, and I probably utilize it the same way. But as much as I love many of the handhelds I’ve used over the past few years, I don’t know if I would ever buy one if a Steam Deck cost a thousand dollars.
Gaming laptops are meant to be your main computer and are powerful enough to play most games at higher resolutions and better image quality than handheld computers. They can also do much more than just play your games.
Gaming laptops aren’t going anywhere
I spend a lot of time on my laptop – and I’ve reviewed many of them – but I always come back to my computer because it allows me to play games as well as run errands. There’s something nice about a device that lets you play something like World of Warcraft in between Adobe Premiere sessions. And that’s really what gaming laptops offer, and it’s something that handhelds continue to struggle with even as they start to command laptop-like prices.
Because while many notebook computers are launching on the market with a full-blown version of Windows, they have a long way to go before they can truly replace gaming laptops. They probably have a long way to go before they are basic to utilize just playing. Xbox Full Screen Experience has greatly improved the user experience, giving Windows a controller-friendly UI where you can launch games or open Edge, but doesn’t allow for much else.
If you want to get some work done on Xbox Ally X, that’s certainly possible, but you’ll need to get to your desktop and likely connect a keyboard and mouse to utilize most productivity apps. You’ll probably also want to connect it to an external display. You can certainly utilize a handheld like any other computer, but it requires so many extra steps that it’s probably not worth it.
Instead, for most people who only need one computer, a gaming laptop simply makes more sense, especially as the price difference between the two continues to narrow. You will be able to play games better while still completing all your daily tasks we all have without having to connect two or more accessories to the USB key.
Portable gaming PCs are a better complement to your main gaming setup, especially if you already have a huge Steam library to draw from. I’m not sure what the reps at Lenovo and Asus are thinking, but it seems like a bad idea to make an additional device as exorbitant as a gaming laptop.
Jackie Thomas is IGN’s hardware and shopping guide editor and the queen of PC components. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
