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New Xbox: Microsoft is thinking about developing a new Xbox console, but it's not quite the Xbox Series X successor you may be thinking of. Codenamed "Keystone," this new console will aim to bring cloud gaming to the masses, so you can play the latest games for less.
Microsoft's New Xbox Console As reported by Windows Central, the Keystone console won't pack powerful hardware. Instead, it will act as a hub through which you can play games on the cloud via the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plan.
Because the hardware is designed purely for streaming instead of rendering graphics, the cost of the console is projected to be much lower than Microsoft's flagship console, the Xbox Series X. And because of that, there's seemingly no way to download games onto it or put a game disk into the Keystone console; it can only handle games played on the cloud, where the graphics are rendered off of the console.
On top of that, the new console will likely be tiny:
The current iteration of Keystone internally is about an inch thick, and has a square form factor similar to the top of an Xbox Series X shaved off. The final version released to consumers, however, may look fairly different, but this is the kind of small size and sleek design Microsoft is gunning for.
There's no release date set yet, but hopefully, more details will emerge soon.
A New Life for Keystone If the word "Keystone" sounds familiar to you, it's likely because you heard of its first iteration. We reported on its first form before, as the Keystone originally appeared as a streaming dongle. However, it seems Microsoft has since gone back on that plan.
Its second life as a streaming console is very interesting. The world isn't a stranger to such devices; for example, Google's Stadia has a device through which games are streamed. But it's not always needed; for instance, you can actually play Stadia games on your Xbox.
As such, this new iteration of Keystone is nothing new in the technological world. However, it is a new frontier in the console wars, with both Sony and Nintendo yet to release a cheap version of their console that depends on the cloud. And if gamers take to cloud gaming in a big way, Microsoft may tap into a brand new market of cheap consoles that act as a relay between the player and the cloud.
Is This Console the Key to Cloud Gaming? While Keystone doesn't seem to tread new ground, it's definitely leading the charge in the console market. We'll have to see how this new console develops; that is if it even reaches the light of day.
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