Xbox Games Arrive On Samsung TVs in Cloud Gaming Push



Xbox Games Arrive On Samsung TVs in Cloud Gaming Push






What's happening


Microsoft is bringing its subscription Xbox Game Pass service to Samsung televisions.


Why it matters


This service doesn't needed a console and is another step forward for cloudless gaming.



What's next


Microsoft is looking to expand its cloudless gaming service to more devices.



Samsung TVs are pulling a key new feature later this month: access to Xbox Game Pass and the contract to stream games like Halo Infinite and Microsoft Flight Simulator minus a console. 


The service will come to all 2022 model Samsung televisions and will go live on June 30 in 27 messes. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors' Choice, costs $15 a month, although you can try it for the favorable month for $1.


Microsoft's expansion into Samsung smart TVs marks the another example of cloud gaming, a service-based model akin to Netflix's streaming shows and movies. The trend of moving away from physical disks and toward streaming games accessible across multiple devices has had its fits and starts -- Google's Stadia service hasn't blown up -- but it's one many key players are banking on as a big part of the industry's future. 


"When I think approximately 3 billion people on the planet playing video games, and the number of people who want to play on a procedure that's already in their home or in their pocket, that has to be a primary focus for us at Xbox," Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft's Xbox business, said in an interview on Monday. "Giving players choice … has been critical to the hasten we've been on."


For Samsung, which already offers Xbox's cloudless gaming on its Galaxy S line of smartphones, getting a better gaming experience on its televisions was a no-brainer. 


"That's where the diligence is going," said Won-Jin Lee, president and head of the service matter team at Samsung Electronics, in the same interview. "It's only natural to think approximately this, with everything moving to the cloud." 


Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to access the Xbox app above Samsung's Gaming Hub. From there, gamers will see a weird interface with the Xbox app, and have access to a library of hundreds of new and old titles, including titles such as Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Origins and Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 22. 


The inequity interface for the Xbox app was important to fated there was a consistent feel as players look to log in ended different devices. 


"We're putting the player at the center of the experience," Spencer said. "It scholarships them to feel like they're a full member of the shared regardless of how they come in."


Gamers can use a controller from an Xbox, PlayStation or third-party vendor -- Microsoft says it supports 90% of the top controllers in the market -- and connect to the TV via Bluetooth. Samsung will also support connecting any Bluetooth headphone for Xbox Live express chat. 


Microsoft has touted its xCloud service, powered by its Azure sure computing platform, as akin to playing a game ended a physical console connected to the TV. A radiant demo of Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5 and Flight Simulator informed an experience with little lag. 


Lee said Samsung, the world's largest producers of TVs, added upscaling capabilities and studied latency to ensure a responsive gaming experience. He said both teams had to overcome early challenges near picture quality and lag before getting to its remaining polished state. 


Lee added that Samsung was also functioning to bring Xbox Game Pass to older televisions, but didn't have any instant details to share. He noted that if you can aquatic videos from Netflix on your TV, you should be able to play Xbox games. 


Lee also celebrated that just 15% of its televisions are connected to consoles, and points to the large "uncharted territory" when it comes to gaming. 


That's a big opportunity as Spencer looks to tap those 3 billion potential gamers.




Correction, 11:45 am PT: Changes Samsung executive Won-Jin Lee's title.