What you need to know
- Microsoft plans to expand cloud gaming through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
- It announced it has plans to build streaming devices to reach gamers on any TV.
- Xbox is also working with global TV manufacturers to embed the Xbox experience directly into smart TVs.
In a blog post on Xbox Wire, Xbox head Phil Spencer and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discussed the importance of gaming at the company, and how it plans to expand far beyond console. With Xbox Game Pass for Android, games are already being delivered to millions of people through the cloud on their mobile devices. Taking it a step further, Microsoft is working with TV manufacturers to embed that experience directly into smart TVs, hinting that a native Xbox Game Pass app could be on the way for some of the best Android TVs.
Xbox is working with global TV manufacturers to embed the Xbox experience directly into internet-connected televisions with no extra hardware required except a controller.Xbox is building its own streaming devices for cloud gaming to reach gamers on any TV or monitor without the need for a console at all.
"As a company, Microsoft is all-in on gaming," said Nadella. "Gaming is the most dynamic category in the entertainment industry. Three billion consumers look to gaming for entertainment, community, creation, as well as a real sense of achievement, and our ambition is to empower each of them, wherever they play."
This is a long term plan for Microsoft that should dramatically increase the amount of Xbox Game Pass subscribers it has, which was around 18 million by January 2021.
Your key to game streaming
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a phenomenal deal, and it looks like it will be coming to plenty more platforms in the future. Microsoft's goal is to make gaming accessible to everyone, and by partnering with TV manufacturers and creating its own streaming device, Xbox is one step closer to that goal.
