The future of Xbox, between Cloud and Game Pass

The future of Xbox

A few days after the expected showcase of the Xbox and Bethesda games, Microsoft wanted to anticipate the event with a presentation dedicated to the press. It was an event very similar to the one held last year, which was not intended to tell the lineup of upcoming games, but the way in which these games and the Xbox service in general will be enjoyed.

If the Sunday evening showcase will be entirely dedicated to announcements and trailers of new video games, in this forty-five minute meeting, the philosophy of Xbox, the expansion of its services and plans was instead discussed Microsoft to evolve the industry over the next two decades. All this to accompany a couple of very interesting revelations.

Let's go and discover the future of Xbox, between Cloud and Game Pass.

Xbox on Smart TV

The Xbox cloud on Samsung TVs Opening the presentation, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer reiterated what Xbox's goal has been in recent years: "We are building a platform that is capable of reaching billions of players, regardless be it on console, on PC or through the cloud. On any device they want to play they must be able to find the content they want to enjoy. "

In short, Xbox intended not as a game console but as an omnipresent platform that allows you to access your library on any device that has a screen. Precisely with this in mind, an important piece is inserted, namely the arrival of the Xbox app on Samsung's Smart TVs and, therefore, the possibility of playing the games that support it in the cloud without the need to have a console connected.

The intention to invade Smart TVs had already been anticipated last year, but now it has a precise date: from June 30th you will be able to install the Xbox App on your Samsung Smart TV (for the moment only on models manufactured after 2022), enter your Microsoft account and connect any Bluetooth controller to start playing. Net of one exception (Fortnite), to play it will be necessary to have a Game Pass Ultimate subscription and, obviously, it will be possible to use only games compatible with the Cloud service (for now there are over 100 games).

Although for the moment the app is only present on the most recent Samsung Smart TVs, Microsoft's intention is clearly to expand over time, on the one hand by entering into agreements with other Smart TV manufacturers, by another by allowing the Xbox Cloud to also arrive on TVs and monitors that are not "smart" enough: a few days ago the indiscretion was continuing work on Project Keystone, a small HDMI device that, along the lines of Chromecast, allows you to connect the screen to the home Wi-Fi network.

Xbox app arrives on Samsung TVs Speaking of Cloud Gaming, the expansion of the service continues in new markets, with Microsoft announcing the arrival of the service ( for now still in Beta) in Argentina and New Zealand, while very soon the catalog of games that can be enjoyed in streaming is destined to increase. Ashley McKissick, Corporate Vice President of the gaming branch, says: "One of the biggest requests that users have made of us has been to be able to play all the games that you own in streaming, even those that are not part of the Game Pass catalog. this, during the year Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to play all the titles they own in the cloud, as long as they obviously support the game in streaming "

Edge and Windows 11

Xbox has become a platform In addition to TVs, Microsoft intends to expand the Xbox experience to PC through Windows 11 and Edge. As for the operating system, there has been talk of new optimizations for games in the window, as well as supporting features such as Auto HDR and Variable Refresh Rate. An app is also coming to help in color calibration, a widget through which to consult the Game Pass catalog and quickly enter the game, in addition to the Controller Bar, which allows you to access games or Xbox Cloud Gaming on PC without using a mouse and keyboard. , but only the pad. Those who use Edge as a web browser will soon find a renewed home page with a page dedicated to video games, where you can find news, guides, links to live streaming and information on new releases, upcoming tournaments or the Xbox Cloud Gaming catalog.

Demo on Game Pass

The Xbox cloud gaming home page Without a doubt one of the most interesting announcements of Microsoft's intervention was what is internally called Project Moorcroft. This is a program that will enrich Xbox Game Pass with the possibility of previewing demos of games in development. Initiatives such as Steam Next Fest have already demonstrated the advantages: users can thus discover new games to keep an eye on and get a better idea before buying it; Developers, on the other hand, can take advantage of the demos to advertise and, above all, they can gather feedback on what works well and what works not. PlayStation has recently announced a similar program for PlayStation Plus subscribers, but compared to the alternative proposed by Sony, Project Moorcroft has two important differences: on the one hand, the program is absolutely optional for developers, who can freely decide whether to publish a demo. or not; the participating developers will also be compensated for the time and resources spent creating a demo, an absolutely not negligible detail that could convince more and more development teams to embrace the project over time.

And i games?

The digital appointment on the future of Xbox has allowed the representatives of the company to reiterate some hot topics already touched on last year. From the continuous efforts to make video games more accessible, passing through the work on user moderation to prevent toxic behavior and therefore ensure a welcoming online gaming experience for all.

Finally, the expansion of its catalog through the acquisition of new studios: we talked very briefly about Activision Blizzard and its enormous potential both in the console and mobile market. Speaking of important acquisitions, Todd Howard finally closed the presentation, recalling the last twenty years of Xbox history and said he was thrilled to be part of the Microsoft family today. We just have to wait for Sunday to finally find out more about his Starfield and the future lineup that awaits Xbox users in the coming months.

We, of course, will follow everything live on Twitch, also live from Los Angeles: stay with us!

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