Subscribers to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate can play the collection on an Xbox One, Xbox Series S or X, or stream them to Android phones. That capability is soon coming to iOS, and possibly streaming to non-gaming Windows PCs, too. What’s next? According to a recent interview, a smart TV app, so you can ditch the console entirely.
That news comes from Microsoft’s head of gaming Phil Spencer. He told The Verge that he expected to see a smart TV app for Game Pass Streaming “within the next 12 months.” Spencer went on to describe modern TVs as more complex platforms that are portals to streaming content, a function that consoles like the Xbox also perform.
A smart TV app, or possibly a sold-separately dongle a la the Chromecast, makes a lot of sense for the Xbox team. With Game Pass, Microsoft is pursuing an omnibus strategy, selling games as a service to players no matter what hardware they have. The idea of simply pairing a controller with the TV you already own, then getting instant access to the latest games from Microsoft’s publishing arm, is certainly appealing.
Game Pass and other all-streaming game platforms like Stadia, GeForce NOW, and Luna don’t solve the “last mile” problem: players still need a robust data connection, preferably without a cap, in order to enjoy them. But with these pushes towards the cloud, it’s not hard to imagine a future where gaming hardware is largely invisible. Considering how gargantuan the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are, it might come as a relief to overburdened entertainment centers and sciatica sufferers everywhere.
Source: The Verge