Microsoft has been working on an Xbox streaming device for some time now. In fact, we even “accidentally” saw an old prototype of a Project Keystone streaming device in a recent tweet from Phil Spencer. But now, we may actually know why we have yet to see one — and how much Microsoft wants it to cost.
In a recent interview on The Verge’s Decoder podcast reported on by VGC, Phil Spencer talked about Project Keystone and why it's on hold for now. In short, it costs too much. Spencer said that while he was hesitant to announce specific pricing on the rumored future Xbox streaming device, he thinks it needs to be within the $99 to $129 range. Anything more than that and it will struggle to differentiate itself from the Xbox Series S, which is currently on sale for just $249.
Spencer says that we should still expect an Xbox streaming device in the future, but not for several years. Hopefully, he keeps his promise of a relatively low price point for cloud-based console gaming.
Xbox streaming device: Price and hardware holding it back
While money was a big factor in Microsoft temporarily shelving Project Keystone — literally — it wasn’t the only factor. Spencer also stated that the controller wasn’t ready, indicating that Microsoft was planning to use a separate controller specifically for its streaming device rather than the current Microsoft Xbox One controller. This feels like an odd choice since the Xbox One controller is one of the best game controllers on the market, but Microsoft must have had its reasons.
Apparently, the hardware of the device itself was also a complicating factor, and one that directly contributed to the price point Microsoft was unwilling to proceed with. Spencer said that the Project Keystone streaming device needed to build everything completely bespoke due to its requirements for an external power source and the integrated circuitry of today’s best televisions. The silicon needed for the streaming device was also an issue, with Spencer explicitly blaming it for exceeding the bounds of the desired $129 price point.
We definitely look forward to an Xbox streaming device, but it sounds like for now we shouldn’t hold our breath. In the meantime, we will need to be satisfied with the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S to get our Xbox gaming fix. These consoles just turned two years old and we are covering their anniversary event. Check out our latest features on our favorite Xbox Series X games, how the PS5 and Xbox Series X stack up two years later and what the PS5 could learn from Xbox Cloud Gaming.
