Despite MSI announcing two of its latest gaming handhelds in May, the MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM and the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus 'Polar Tempest' Edition, the former, which is powered by AMD, has yet to launch worldwide. Well, that's about to change, with the company's German site revealing an August date. It's been a confusing launch, with the 'Polar Tempest' Edition becoming available in some Asia markets since June, but no word on the MSI Claw A8 Ryzen Edition's availability. Hopefully, that confusion is about to be eradicated by a worldwide launch of the handheld.
According to Videocardz, via MSI Germany, the Claw A8 Ryzen Edition is set to launch between August 4 and August 10 for €999.99. When MSI announced the two handhelds, it was expected that we'd see both of them made available soon after May. But the company has been unusually hesitant to press the button on a full worldwide launch for both handhelds, leaving only the Intel-powered version available to buy in certain markets. Thankfully, it looks like every edition of the Claw A8 will be made available very soon.
For those unaware, MSI announced the specs of the handheld in a press release. The MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM has an AMD Z2 Extreme CPU with up to 24GB LDDR5 memory, an 8-inch 120Hz display featuring a 1920 x 1080 resolution, a 1TB M.2 SSD, and much more. It also comes with Windows 11 pre-installed, meaning you'll be able to play games like Fortnite and Dragon Ball Z: FighterZ straight away, something that SteamOS is unable to currently do, due to the anti-cheat measures these games feature.
Now that the Ryzen Edition of the A8 is finally on its way, it could be a contender to feature in our best handheld console list. With newer CPUs in both the MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM and the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus 'Polar Tempest' Edition, it could mean that running games like Doom: The Dark Ages at higher settings compared to other handhelds currently available will be a breeze for the Claw A8.
Nevertheless, we mentioned in our MSI Claw 8 AI+ review that Windows 11 could be a big detriment to these handhelds due to a lack of user interface optimization compared to what Valve's SteamOS operating system offers. However, now that the Ryzen Z2 Edition is allegedly weeks away, it could tempt some gamers to replace their Steam Deck OLED with MSI's latest handheld.
But if your patience ran out waiting for MSI's newest handheld powered by AMD, check out our Steam Deck 2 hub to see what Valve may be planning for its next gaming handheld. Or, if you're looking for something smaller to fit into your backpack, take a look at our picks of the best retro handhelds.