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Xbox’s next big hardware announcement could be smaller than expected. Xbox Director Phil Spencer has hinted that future plans for the Xbox xCloud streaming service could include launching ‘lower priced hardware’ in the future.
Everything is hypothetical in context, at least for now. Spencer shared her personal projections in a chat with Stratchery (via The Verge), pondering the possibilities and an xCloud-branded streaming device she could create for the service.
“I think you will see lower priced hardware as part of our ecosystem when you think of streaming devices and other things that someone might want to connect to their TV and play through xCloud,” Spencer tells Stratchery.
Doing so would bring xCloud closer to competing game streaming services like Google Stadia or Amazon Luna that use plug ‘n play devices like Chromecast or Amazon Fire to stream games directly to a player’s TV. Specifically for Xbox, such a launch would be in tune with the brand’s recent efforts to expand its Xbox ecosystem and lower the barrier to entry through programs such as Game Pass or its Xbox All Access financing program.
“You could imagine us even having something we just included in the Game Pass subscription that gave you the ability to stream xCloud games to your TV and buy the controller,” says Spencer.
