Dbrand’s Steam Deck case is fixed — and there’s a ROG Ally version now

20.10.2023 - 17:09 / theverge.com / Sean Hollister / Deck

By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

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Your Asus ROG Ally gaming handheld is brilliantly white, and that will not stand: you’ve decided your gadgets must be black. Or… maybe you just want a rugged case that’ll survive a drop or three? Either way, Dbrand thinks it’s got what you need — a $60 Killswitch case like the one it makes for the Steam Deck that’ll ship early next year.

“But wait,” I will pretend to hear some of you thinking, “Didn’t Dbrand royally screw that up? Didn’t The Verge trigger a million-dollar recall when you folks discovered it interfered with a Steam Deck fan?”

Yes — but Dbrand did rapidly recall them, admitted its mistake, then shipped a replacement Killswitch 2.0 that I’ve been testing for months with no issue. It’s still an impressively rugged, form-fitting shell with loads of grippy texture, even if I personally prefer the bare Steam Deck without the extra material.

For the Steam Deck version, Dbrand replaced its original magnetic accessory mount this spring with a twist-to-lock bayonet version instead. Not only does it nicely secure the included kickstand but Dbrand also sells and lets you 3D print your own universal mounts so you can attach the Steam Deck to other objects or strap on a big external battery:

The new Asus ROG Ally version doesn’t have that accessory mount, though — instead, it’s got a fixed kickstand above a huge mesh grille to let the Ally vent properly.

“After last year’s magnet debacle, we wanted to avoid any mishaps with the ROG Ally. As such, we’ve been working directly with the Asus ROG engineering team to ensure compatibility with their hardware,” CEO Adam Ijaz tells me.

Asus told Dbrand which vents are purely decorative and which are needed for airflow, according to Ijaz — and paid Dbrand to design the Ally version, for that matter. He also says it’s got plenty of clearance for “all charging cables” and Asus’ XG Mobile external GPU connector. (Dbrand’s Steam Deck case, by comparison, requires a short USB-C extension to accommodate the official Steam Deck Dock’s low-profile cable.)

The Killswitch doesn’t make your ROG Ally turn black all by itself, BTW — there’s also an included two-piece matte black skin that covers the parts that aren’t covered by the case. You should be able to swap it out for a Verge skin at launch, if you’d rather, or any other skin the company sells — including an unreleased “teardown” skin that lets you “see through” at least part of the handheld.

Like the Steam Deck version, the Ally kickstand has