Microsoft will quickly launch a devoted machine for sport streaming, the corporate introduced at present. It’s additionally working with a lot of TV producers to construct the Xbox expertise proper into their internet-connected screens and Microsoft plans to convey cloud gaming to the PC Xbox app later this yr, too, with a give attention to play-before-you-buy situations.

It’s unclear what these new sport streaming gadgets will appear to be. Microsoft didn’t present any additional particulars. But likelihood is we’re speaking about both a Chromecast-like streaming stick or a small Apple TV-like field. So far, we additionally don’t know which TV producers it’ll associate with.

It’s no secret that Microsoft is bullish about cloud gaming. With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, it’s already making it doable for its subscribers to play greater than 100 console video games on Android, streamed from the Azure cloud, for instance. In a couple of weeks, it’ll open cloud gaming within the browser on Edge, Chrome and Safari, to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers (it’s presently in restricted beta). And it’s bringing Game Pass Ultimate to Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Japan later this yr, too.

In some ways, Microsoft is unbundling gaming from the {hardware} — just like what Google is making an attempt with Stadia (an effort that, to date, has fallen flat for Google) and Amazon with Luna. The main benefit Microsoft has here’s a giant library of standard video games, one thing that’s principally lacking on competing providers, apart from Nvidia’s GeForce Now platform — although that one has a unique enterprise mannequin since its focus just isn’t on a subscription however on permitting you to play the video games you purchase in third-party shops like Steam or the Epic retailer.

What Microsoft clearly desires to do is broaden the general Xbox ecosystem, even when meaning it sells fewer devoted high-powered consoles. The firm likens this to the music business’s transition to cloud-powered providers backed by all-you-can-eat subscription fashions.

“We believe that games, that interactive entertainment, aren’t really about hardware and software. It’s not about pixels. It’s about people. Games bring people together,” stated Microsoft’s Xbox head Phil Spencer. “Games build bridges and forge bonds, generating mutual empathy among people all over the world. Joy and community — that’s why we’re here.”

It’s price noting that Microsoft says it’s not getting rid of devoted {hardware}, although, and is already engaged on the subsequent era of its console {hardware} — however don’t count on a brand new Xbox console anytime quickly.