Contrary to rumors, Microsoft doesn't just run on a streaming Xbox console. In an interview with Gamespot, Phil Spencer, Microsoft's executive vice president for video games, has everything in order: the company does not work at the moment only on a streaming Xbox console.
After the Redmond company announced last year that it was working on a game streaming technology (known as xCloud), as well as new game consoles, Spencer said Xbox fans might have considered this to mean that it was being built. a streaming console.
The May 2019 release of the all-digital Xbox One S discless version has only fueled these rumors. However, even if this new console does not read a physical disc, it requires downloading games before it can be read.
We're not that close to transmission yet.
The good news is that the Microsoft Games division is still working to bring this console-quality game streaming service to life. In fact, it is at full throttle for this game streaming technology.
According to Spencer, "We don't currently work on a streaming-only console. We consider the phone in your pocket as a streaming destination, and the console we have allows you to play games locally."
Dubbed Project xCloud, this technology is intended to complement Microsoft's console hardware and give gamers the ability to use the Xbox feature through their other devices, with perhaps the least delay possible. Currently in the company's beta phase, Project xCloud will be in public beta for select markets in September and for the rest of the gaming world in 2020.
As for whether an Xbox-only streaming console might still be in the stars, who knows? With the direction taken by Microsoft, an exclusive streaming console could one day happen. However, if this game streaming service is successful, we probably won't need it.