Xbox. The world of video games is moving unhurriedly, but without pause, towards streaming. There are already interesting options on the table, such as NVIDIA GeForce Now, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna (halfway), PS Now and, of course, Microsoft Cloud Gaming, which is, without a doubt, one of the most ambitious.
Redmond has long been pushing its cloud gaming service, allowing Game Pass subscribers to play almost any title from any device via the cloud, and now they’re preparing their next big step: a native app for Samsung TVs and a dongle for any TV.
Console? No, I play directly on TV
This has been advanced by VentureBeat, which cites “people familiar with the plans”. According to the media, in the next 12 months, Microsoft plans to launch a Chromecast / Fire TV Stick device that, on paper, would allow access to the cloud gaming service from any television like the one netflix opens.
These plans are not new. In fact, it is not the first one we hear about them and what’s more, it is official that Microsoft is working on this device. The company itself confirmed this in 2021 through its official blog in a statement that read as follows:
“Xbox is building its own streaming devices so that cloud gaming reaches gamers on any TV or monitor without the need for a console.”
What’s new, therefore, is that this device would launch in the next 12 months. We will have to wait to see if it is finally so, but it is a plan that makes a lot of sense knowing Microsoft’s strategy: it does not matter where they play and what they play, as long as users religiously pay for their Game Pass subscription.
On the other hand, VentureBeat anticipates that, in the next 12 months, Xbox’s plan to bring cloud gaming to TVs natively will also materialize. It will, first, on Samsung TVs. These will have a native app that will allow access to the games from the TV itself, as long as it is connected to the Internet. This, again, is official and we already knew microsoft was working on it. Quoting the same statement as before:
“Xbox is working with TV manufacturers around the world to integrate the Xbox experience directly into Internet-connected TVs without the need for additional hardware except for a controller.”
After all, it makes sense that this is the case. All it takes to play in the cloud is a screen, a controller, and an internet connection. In fact, we’ve already been able to get a sneak peek of how this will work courtesy of Google Stadia and its native app for LG TVs.