Almost two years after the launch of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, Microsoft is preparing to deploy a third machine. Her name ? Xbox Keystone. His goal ? To offer you a gaming experience focused exclusively on the Cloud Gaming.
The Redmond firm continues in its ecosystem logic and intends to offer players new possibilities in the future.
When Xbox wants to expand the video game market
Console iterations are commonplace in the video game industry. The objective is above all to offer a hardware update, and therefore, to extend the life cycle of a console before it is definitively replaced. On the Microsoft side, this was particularly the case with the Xbox One S in 2016 and the Xbox One X a year later.
With the deployment of the Xbox Series in November 2020, Microsoft has somewhat reshuffled its strategy by simultaneously marketing two consoles with distinct ambitions. Here, the objective is then to address audiences with neither the same needs (the Xbox Series S being entirely dematerialized and devoid of native 4K) nor the same financial capacities (the Xbox Series X costing 200 euros more ).
But more than a year and a half after its launch, the Series range could welcome a new member. Its code name: Xbox Keystone.
Xbox Keystone: the streaming home console
Indeed, a new game console is currently being prepared at Microsoft. Bearing the name “Keystone”, this machine would place Cloud Gaming at the heart of its philosophy, as well as video streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+. If the possibility of buying games directly from the Xbox Store is currently under consideration, players who subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will be able, whatever the cost, to access a rich toy library via the Cloud, without spend an astronomical sum on hardware.
If the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are respectively marketed at prices of 499 euros and 299 euros, the Xbox Keystone would be offered at a price of around 100 euros (excluding monthly subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate). In addition, it would be the smallest Xbox console in the history of the American manufacturer. The beast is said to be about 3cm thick and sport a square shape, similar to the top of an Xbox Series X, although it would be much less tall. It should have USB and Ethernet ports, as well as Wi-Fi 5.
At the moment, we don’t yet know precisely if the streaming home console will be able to run games in 4K / 60fps, or if it will be necessary to rely on 1080p / 60fps. According to information from Windows Central, this would be based primarily on the state of cloud services at the time of its launch. Initially scheduled to land in 2022, it seems that the Xbox Keystone will not finally go on sale until next year.
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Sources: Windows Central, Neowin
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