An interview with Phil Spencer, boss of Microsoft, suggests that the firm no longer intends to release a device dedicated to Xbox Cloud Gaming.
It’s decidedly no good being a device without local gaming capability at Xbox. Since the launch of the Xbox One in 2013, several rumors and leaks have taken turns around the project of a multimedia box launched by Xbox at a very competitive price. Originally, when Xbox saw itself as a film and music giant, it had to be a competitor to Apple TV or the Nvidia Shield: a multimedia box without video game capabilities, but accessing films and music purchased by the consumer.
This project died at the same time as the refocusing of Xbox on video games and only video games. Then the idea germinated again in the minds of Microsoft engineers from a new angle: an HDMI box dedicated to access to Xbox Cloud Gaming. According to a new interview for the wall street journal of Phil Spencer, the boss of Microsoft Gaming, this device will not see the light of day.
Microsoft pivoted to Samsung
A few days ago, we could discover the first photo of the prototype of Keystone, the code name of this box project dedicated to cloud gaming. It was natural for the wall street journal ask questions about the device.
From Phil Spencer’s response, it’s clear the product isn’t going to see the light of day anytime soon.
Keystone was something we were testing internally. At the end of spring, we decided to work with Samsung. I still have the prototype… Will we make a streaming device at some point? I think so, but that’s years away.
The boss of Microsoft Gaming is referring here to the partnership with Samsung which allows Xbox Cloud Gaming to be integrated natively on all new Samsung TV and Smart Monitor products. We were also able to test it.
Still, a dedicated box would have been practical for those who don’t have a recent Samsung TV and who would like to take advantage of the cloud gaming on the living room screen without going through the purchase of a console. In the absence of a dedicated box, which no longer seems to be on the agenda, let’s hope that the firm will soon offer an application for Android TV and more partnerships with other television manufacturers.
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