Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wanted to congratulate Fallout on Monday for 25 years of… yadda yadda, but what’s that? Up there on the top shelf, could it be? An Xbox streaming box?
Spencer was supposedly posting to congratulate Fallout for its host of amazing games (Fallouts 1, 2, and New Vegas) and mediocre post-apocalyptic romps (everything else, don’t @ me), but eagle-eyed Microsoft fanatics spotted something else. In a picture of Spencer’s shelf, there was a small device that could very well be Xbox’s first-party foray into streaming hardware.
The last we heard of the Xbox streaming stick, codenamed “Keystone,” Xbox was going back to the drawing board. Now, it seems like the stick format might be on the way out.
This device seems to be more like a short bar or box that would connect to a TV through an HDMI port. We reached out to Microsoft and Xbox for comment, and the company pointed to the official Xbox Twitter, which claimed it was just an “old prototype.”
Spencer’s original tweet still remains up, so even if the leak was unintentional, it seems fair to say Microsoft is enjoying the free buzz. Spencer is known for hiding Easter eggs on his shelf. He originally leaked the Xbox Series S on a livestream.
That hasn’t dissuaded any of the speculation, however. One of the Verge’s senior editors, Tom Warren, claimed that what’s in the image is “100%” the Keystone device. Warren previously wrote for WinRumors, which focused on Microsoft news, so he does have some claim to say that, according to sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans, the team is still working on its streaming device.
Warren’s tweet hit before the Xbox team’s reply about the device being a prototype, to which Warren replied “wink wink, nudge nudge.”
Microsoft has confirmed the name “Keystone” relates to its streaming endeavors and has mentioned its plans to bring to market a device that uses the Xbox Game Pass subscription program exclusively. When the company said it was going to “pivot away from the current iteration of the Keystone device,” that was among rumors that it wanted to release its new device within a year. Even with the revelation that the device still seems to be in development, we’re skeptical that Xbox will hit that timeline.
Your average streaming sticks, like Roku devices or Chromecast dongles, are pretty ubiquitous, so going box-sized may also free up some space on a TV’s crowded HDMI ports. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate also includes access to media other than games, including some TV and movies. Eschewing the stick design for a miniature box could also give it access to an ethernet port and potentially more USB connections, which could be very useful for charging controllers. Though some companies have been making forays into hardware-less game streaming, with the end of Google Stadia, it will be interesting to see what Microsoft does differently to make cloud gaming really stick this time.
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