Microsoft is introducing Xbox Game Pass cloud streaming to smart TVs, allowing customers to watch games without having to own a console.
Microsoft announced on Thursday that the app will first be available on Samsung’s 2022 smart TVs before expanding to other manufacturers. After a 92 percent increase in Xbox hardware revenue last year, Microsoft is taking a risk. The app will be available in 27 countries starting June 30th, according to the business.
Generation of Gaming
The move implies that Microsoft is focusing on generating revenue from gaming content and services rather than just consoles, where it currently behind Nintendo and Sony. Microsoft made the greatest gaming splash earlier this year when it revealed plans to purchase game producer Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
Microsoft’s fourth-largest major product category is gaming, and the company is hoping to attract more consumers to its $10-per-month Game Pass subscription service, which includes a PC-based alternative as well as cloud-based streaming.
Lockdown Hampered Microsoft
After Microsoft debuted their Xbox Series X and S consoles in 2020, and people spent more time playing games as companies and schools were shuttered due to the Covid pandemic, the hardware business took off. However, component shortages and, more lately, Chinese lockdowns have hampered Microsoft’s ability to create new consoles.
On a conference call with analysts in April, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “We have grabbed share globally for two quarters in a row, and we are the market leader this quarter among next-gen consoles in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe.”
However, the situation isn’t as rosy as it appears. According to Ampere Analysis, a London-based research firm, Microsoft will sell 7.7 million Xbox Series S and X consoles in 2021, while Sony will sell 7.7 million.
