Xbox muses xCloud expansion through 'lower priced' gear like streaming sticks

Xbox’s next big hardware announcement might be tinier than expected. Xbox head Phil Spencer has hinted that future plans for Xbox’s streaming service xCloud could include launching ‘lower priced hardware’ down the line.

It’s all hypothetical in context, at least for now. Spencer shared his personal projections in a chat with Stratchery (via The Verge), musing on the possibilities and an xCloud-branded streaming stick could create for the service.

“I think you’re going to see lower priced hardware as part of our ecosystem when you think about streaming sticks and other things that somebody might want to just go plug into their TV and go play via 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 sticks to stream games directly to a player's TV set. For Xbox specifically, such a launch would be in tune with the brand’s recent efforts to expand its Xbox ecosystem and lower the barrier of entry into that through programs like Game Pass or its Xbox All Access financing program.

“You could imagine us even having something that we just included in the Game Pass subscription that gave you an ability to stream xCloud games to your television and buying the controller,” pitches Spencer.