Microsoft has been pushing its Xbox cloud gaming initiative for a while now, and it’s seeing great success. Xbox players are now able to remotely stream Xbox Game Pass games to a variety of devices. However, one device that is yet to be available for Xbox cloud streaming is the TV.
There have been numerous reports that Microsoft is working on a streaming stick that would allow users to access Xbox cloud games on TVs for the price of a low-cost dongle. This would work without the need for an Xbox console, in a similar manner to Google Stadia. Now, courtesy of Jez Corden at Windows Central, we suspect that this device is codenamed “Keystone.”
Keystone is supposedly an HDMI streaming device that can connect to the cloud to let users play Xbox Game Pass games on a TV. Windows Central has reason to believe that the Xbox cloud device has been in development for multiple years. A Microsoft spokesperson has stated to Windows Central that the company is still changing what it wants the final version of the device to be. The gaming giant wants to lower the boundaries to accessing Xbox content, and Keystone would be the natural next step towards this goal.
The spokesperson said, “Our vision for Xbox Cloud Gaming is unwavering, our goal is to enable people to play the games they want, on the devices they want, anywhere they want. As announced last year, we’ve been working on a game-streaming device, codename Keystone, that could be connected to any TV or monitor without the need for a console.”
There are no concrete details about the release window for Keystone. Given that Microsoft is still going through iterations of the device, it’s likely that it will not be making an appearance at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12th.