Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will launch the Xbox TV app on June 30, allowing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to stream 100 titles directly to their 2022 Samsung Smart TVs as the company looks to advance in its ambition to become the "Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) of gaming."
Without the need for an Xbox console or a PC, Microsoft said Xbox TV was an easy way for those new to gaming to join the Game Pass community, which currently has 25 million members as of January.
All that is needed to use Xbox TV is a subscription, a 2022 Samsung Smart TV, and an Xbox Wireless, Adaptive, Elite Series 2, or DualSense controller. Although, in a blog post, Microsoft notes that an active Game Pass subscription will not be required to play Fortnite through the app.
"We're super excited by what this next step means for all you gamers out there," wrote Ashley McKissick, Microsoft corporate VP of gaming, experiences, and platforms.
"With this rollout, we're making it easier than ever to play games on the devices you already own. With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and a controller, you can easily jump into the world of gaming and connect with your friends and communities on Xbox."
The service will launch in 27 countries and will be exclusive to 2022 Samsung Smart TVs.
Microsoft was unclear whether it would come to other internet-enabled televisions or even earlier Samsung models.
Last year, the company hinted at plans to work with TV makers to bring Xbox cloud gaming to Smart TVs while also announcing a separate pluggable streaming stick for gaming. The streaming stick, codenamed Keystone, is not expected in the near term.
Meanwhile, in January, Microsoft announced it would acquire Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), the conglomerate behind multibillion-dollar franchises like 'Call of Duty' and 'World of WarCraft', for $75 billion, in the largest buyout in the history of the industry.
With many of Activision's most popular titles likely to make their way to Game Pass and with the launch of Xbox TV, it seems that Microsoft is truly bidding to become the "Netflix of gaming."
Still, far more data is needed to stream gameplay than to stream video, and so for the time being, titles played through Xbox TV will be limited to 1080p at 60 fps versus the industry-standard 4k.
Meanwhile, the industry is growing. Consumer spending on cloud gaming reached $3.7 billion last year, with Game Pass accounting for 60% of that spending, according to Omida, with the group expecting the industry to swell to $12 billion by 2023.