HIGHLIGHTS
- Microsoft may be working on a streaming stick for Xbox Cloud Gaming.
- This stick will be able to stream games to a TV or a monitor.
- Microsoft has codenamed it Keystone and it is in development currently.
Microsoft may be working on a streaming stick for Xbox Cloud Gaming.
If you want to play Xbox games, historically the first step has been to buy, borrow or steal an Xbox. But ever since Microsoft launched Xbox Cloud Gaming, having access to a console hasn’t strictly been necessary as anything with a web browser could run a small (but growing) selection of Xbox titles, streamed straight to your screen with surprisingly little latency.
But opening a web browser and typing a URL isn’t as convenient as switching on your TV, and it looks like Microsoft has plans to make streaming titles more easily playable in their natural living room habitat.
This stick will be able to stream games to a TV or a monitor.
The company is said to be working on a device that would allow users to access streaming services without the need for a smartphone or tablet. The device would be able to connect to a TV and allow users to control what they watch from their phone or computer.
Sources say that the company has already developed prototypes of the device and is testing it as we speak.
As of last year, the CVP of gaming experiences and platforms at Microsoft, Liz Hamden, told the public at the E3 online event that the company was developing an Xbox game streaming device that could easily connect to TVs or monitors, and with a good network connection, anyone could enjoy the experience.
Microsoft revealed it is actively working on new Xbox hardware.
Codenamed “Keystone,” the streaming device sounds similar to Chromecast and Google Stadia in that it will connect to any TV or monitor via HDMI, allowing users to tap into Microsoft’s vast games catalog, as well as any other streaming content it chooses to host.
The company didn’t provide any more details about the dongle or a potential launch date, but said that it had recently taken the decision to “pivot away” from its original vision for the device, which would allow it to “deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world in the future.”
