Microsoft is creating its own streaming device for Xbox Cloud games

Microsoft is creating its own streaming device for Xbox Cloud games

Despite the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S selling out faster than retailers can restock them, Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass Ultimate seems to be the real star of the show these days. Its been revealed that Microsoft is developing new hardware for its cloud gaming service.

Just before its massive E3 showcase, Microsoft announced that Xbox Game Pass streaming capabilities will soon be available on even more devices, including smart TVs, streaming players, and Xbox consoles. Presumably for gamers who don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a new console or thousands of dollars for a new PC.

This information comes from the official Xbox Wire blog, where editor-in-chief Will Tuttle gave us a short preview of some of the topics we will hear about on Sunday, June 13. That's the day Xbox and Bethesda will show off their latest games at this year's online-only convention, E3, and while the Xbox Wire post doesn't mention any new games, it does confirm that Microsoft is working on new gaming hardware.

"Xbox is working with TV manufacturers around the world to integrate the Xbox experience directly into Internet-connected TVs. Xbox is building its own streaming device for cloud gaming, allowing it to reach gamers on any TV or monitor without the need for a gaming console at all."

Specific details about which TV manufacturers will incorporate the Xbox app and what the Xbox streaming device will look like are unknown, but the conclusion is clear. In the near future, the Xbox cloud gaming experience, currently available on Android and in closed beta on iOS and Windows 10, will be available on a wider variety of devices.

The bigger news, of course, is that Microsoft is working on an Xbox streaming device. Perhaps Microsoft will talk more about it on Sunday, or maybe it's a "middle of the road" project that we'll hear more about later this year.

"In the coming weeks, cloud gaming in the browser will be open to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members, with support for Edge, Chrome, and Safari, allowing players to game on nearly any device with a single click Later this year, we'll be opening Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members on PC and Mac," Tuttle continued. Later this year, we'll be adding cloud gaming directly to the Xbox app on PC, integrating it into the console experience and shining a light on scenarios where people can try before they download."

Tom's Guide recently had the opportunity to test the Xbox cloud gaming beta on Windows 10 and iOS; while the Windows 10 experience was enjoyable, the iOS experience was not. Still, it appears that Microsoft has worked out most of the bugs and will soon expand Xbox's cloud gaming capabilities to a variety of new platforms. This means that by summer 2021, Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to play hundreds of Xbox games on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series X, PC, Mac, Android, and iOS.

Bringing Xbox cloud gaming to Xbox consoles is another interesting proposal. In theory, Xbox consoles are already powerful enough to run what is included in Xbox Game Pass. However, this may change as developers begin to optimize their games for the Xbox Series X and the Xbox One begins to decline. It is also possible that the Xbox Series S could help keep up-to-date if the games become too demanding for Microsoft's less powerful systems.

For more information, watch the Xbox and Bethesda E3 Showcase on June 13 at 1 p.m. ET on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

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