Last year, Microsoft announced that they are planning an Xbox streaming device codenamed Keystone. Yesterday, Xbox head Phil Spencer shared a photo on Twitter where the device can be seen for the first time. We will tell you what information is currently known and what to expect from Keystone.
Update from October 12, 10:15 AM: It has now been officially confirmed by a Microsoft spokesperson (via Digitaltrends) that the device in Phil Spencer’s tweet is indeed an old prototype of the Keystone.
Furthermore, the statement from the Xbox employee said: “As we announced earlier this year, we have decided to refrain from the current version of Keystone and leverage our past learning experiences to take a new approach that allows us to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to even more players around the world. We have nothing new to announce about this today.”
Original Article: Microsoft publicly announced in mid-last year that they are collaborating with various TV manufacturers to bring the Game Pass to televisions through the company’s xCloud streaming service. xCloud or Xbox Cloud Gaming has been included in Game Pass Ultimate for some time now.
In the future, there will be a device that will make streaming even easier. However, no exact release date has been provided yet, nor has there been a presentation of a device. It has only been vaguely mentioned that “it is expected that this will happen in the next twelve months.” This was not the case; the device codenamed Keystone is still in development.
Microsoft also revealed how much money they are making with Game Pass:
Xbox Head Leaks Prototype – Looks Like a Series S
What was shown exactly? However, yesterday was the first time one could get a glimpse of the cloud-based streaming box. Xbox Head Phil Spencer posted a photo on Twitter, in which the device can be seen on a shelf at the top of the screen.
Until now, it was assumed that the Keystone would likely just be a small stick that could be plugged directly into an HDMI port of the display – similar to, for example, an Amazon Fire TV Stick. However, it has now become clear that the Keystone is not a stick, but rather a small box that visually resembles the Series X/S consoles.
So far, Microsoft has not commented on the appearance of the streaming device. However, the official Xbox account ironically commented on Phil Spencer’s photo on Twitter with “What did we say about putting old prototypes on your shelf, boss?”
It is likely that the Keystone will also include media apps like Netflix in addition to its main function of streaming games.
The Xbox TV app has already been released. On current Samsung TVs, you can log in with your Microsoft account in the app to stream games at 1080p and up to 60 FPS via cloud gaming.
If you still don’t know which console to buy, you can find extensive purchasing advice on the topic of next-gen here:
Are you more of a PS5 fan? If you don’t have a PS5 yet, be sure to check out our ticker. Here we keep you updated daily and explain how to best get a PS5 and show you drops related to the coveted console.
There are regularly PS5 offers at various retailers. If you keep an eye on our live ticker, the chance of missing out on the popular console is reduced.
