A few years ago, Xbox appeared to be going all-in on cloud gaming. The company officially claimed that any device could become an Xbox console. In 2024, while this streaming technology did not meet players' expectations for image quality, the overall outlook was positive. By 2026, however, the situation took a sharp downturn: some Samsung TV users were recently informed that they would no longer be able to use the Xbox Cloud Gaming service starting in November; the previously unlimited cloud game streaming benefit is about to be reduced to just 15 hours per week, with additional hourly fees for excess usage; and in today's exclusive interview with Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma by The New York Times, sources told the newspaper that the rumored Xbox cloud gaming controller was once an officially approved project but seems to have been halted after the Activision acquisition. It appears that the number of devices that can be considered "Xbox" is dwindling.
In an interview with The New York Times, an Xbox spokesperson stated that the Xbox cloud gaming controller, which was leaked again a few months ago, is still under development to some extent. However, the newspaper pointed out that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023 caused the project to stall. During the pre-acquisition regulatory review, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised objections on the grounds that "Microsoft might use this to monopolize the cloud gaming market," a rationale that was somewhat unconvincing. This concern was eventually "resolved," with rumors suggesting that Microsoft shelved the cloud gaming controller project perhaps to appease regulators. As mentioned earlier, Microsoft denied these claims, and recent leaks may indicate that the project has been restarted.
Additionally, Windows Central reported today that Samsung TV users who had activated the Xbox app received emails from Microsoft informing them that the service would be terminated on November 3. The email stated: "Starting November 3, 2020 model Samsung Smart TVs will no longer support the Xbox app, as the underlying technology for Xbox Cloud Gaming has been updated and is no longer compatible with the system versions of these models." The email also mentioned that 2021 models and later would continue to support the app. However, as Windows Central pointed out, this claim is fundamentally flawed—since it is essentially a web-based application accessed via the TV's browser. The media also speculated on the motives behind this decision, suggesting that Microsoft may have found that 2020 models and earlier were the primary devices accessing Xbox Cloud services, and thus decided to drop support for these devices to save bandwidth. This explanation is somewhat far-fetched, but the announcement clearly indicates that Microsoft is unwilling to even make adaptation adjustments to maintain access for these devices, showing that the priority of this technology has dropped to an extremely low level, especially since these devices are currently still functioning normally. (Moreover, my Samsung TV purchased before 2020 continues to receive regular system updates.)
Combined with news from earlier this month—that the cloud game streaming privilege in the highest tier of Game Pass subscription will be reduced from unlimited hours to 15 hours per week—a very clear trend emerges: the company is no longer committed to allowing players to stream games anytime, anywhere, on any device. In March this year, Microsoft removed its slogan "This is Xbox" from its official website, and you hardly hear Microsoft mention the thousands of games available on its cloud service anymore. If Microsoft is indeed still developing a cloud gaming controller—as reported by tech media Tecnoblog four months ago—it is hard to understand the purpose of doing so.
The reality is that although latency issues have improved compared to Google Stadia's awkward attempt at cloud gaming, the technology still struggles to balance clear resolution with stable frame rates. Achieving "play anywhere, anytime" requires significant compromises. For some players, this is negligible, especially when playing on mobile screens, but the concept ultimately satisfies neither side. It clearly failed to achieve the mass-market appeal Xbox initially hoped for, and even with subscription revenue from Game Pass Ultimate, the operational costs of cloud gaming remain too high for Xbox. From this perspective, the so-called monopoly on the cloud gaming market was never really a cause for concern.