Cloud streaming appears to be the next big thing in video games. Microsoft, Google, Netflix, and Nvidia are in the game, and Samsung will join the list. Samsung just announced the development of a new smart TV-based cloud gaming platform.

The news was announced by Yongjae Kim, Samsung's senior vice president of Visual Display Software R&D, during Samsung's SDC21 keynote (via IGN) and will reportedly be available on Samsung's Tizen-powered smart TVs It will reportedly be available on Samsung's Tizen-powered smart TVs.

"To diversify the gaming options on Samsung's smart TVs, we are developing a new cloud gaming platform. This means instant gaming without the need to purchase high-end hardware, and developers can easily apply the seamless, immersive experience of Samsung Smart TVs to new games."

We don't expect this new cloud gaming service to make us forget about trying to restock the PS5 or restock the Xbox Series X, but it could be an alternative for less demanding players.

Samsung has not provided any details or background on what the service is about, including what games or developers we can expect. However, the comparison to "high-end hardware" indicates that Samsung plans to include AAA games rather than mobile titles in this service.

Of course, the game streaming business is already quite crowded, and that is unlikely to subside anytime soon. While Sony has limited PS Now to its own consoles, Xbox Game Pass, Nividia GeForce Now, Google Stadia, and others are rolling it out to a wider variety of devices, including dedicated streaming boxes.

In other words, if Samsung wants game streaming to ultimately succeed, Samsung will have to do the work for it. After all, this is not the first time the company has attempted to launch its own game streaming service.

The company previously partnered with Gaikai in 2012 to bring cloud gaming to its TVs. However, Gaika was acquired by Sony shortly thereafter and its services were repurposed for PS Now.

But perhaps by developing a new cloud gaming service in-house, Samsung should avoid history repeating itself.

The only question is when Samsung will produce a concrete product that people can use, and whether the new service will offer something that its rivals don't. Even Google Stadia is struggling to make waves, so Samsung will have to offer something pretty special. Samsung will have to offer something quite special. Not only will it have to pre-install it on every TV it sells.