Xbox ‘Keystone’ streaming console teased by Xbox Head, Phil Spencer

Microsoft Xbox Head, Phil Spencer, may have teased an upcoming console on Twitter. In a post congratulating developer, Bethesda Game Studio on the 25th anniversary of the Fallout series. The tweet featured an image of a shelf with a bunch of collectables and memorabilia on it. Spencer was focusing on the Fallout Vault Boy statue that he just received but online sleuths noticed something else. Something that looks like an unreleased console hanging out among the other things.

Vault Boy left the shelter and stopped by my office to celebrate the #Fallout25 Anniversary. Congratulations to the @Fallout @Bethesda teams on this major milestone for an iconic franchise. pic.twitter.com/hGoN1sAQRK

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) October 10, 2022

People were quick to suggest that this could be the rumoured ‘Keystone’ console that Microsoft is said to be working on. Unlike the Xbox Series X/S, the Keystone console is said to focus solely on game streaming instead of offering it natively. The latter is what you get in traditional consoles. This would make the overall console much smaller and more affordable as compared to current generation consoles that require high-end hardware. 

Earlier in May, Microsoft confirmed to Windows Central that it was indeed working on a streaming-focused game console. Based on what a company’s spokesperson told the publication,  Microsoft was still working on finalising the console’s hardware and feature set.  

“Our vision for Xbox Cloud Gaming is unwavering, our goal is to enable people to play the games they want, on the devices they want, anywhere they want. As announced last year, we’ve been working on a game-streaming device, codenamed Keystone, that could be connected to any TV or monitor without the need for a console.” The spokesperson said before adding, “As part of any technical journey, we are constantly evaluating our efforts, reviewing our learnings, and ensuring we are bringing value to our customers. We have made the decision to pivot away from the current iteration of the Keystone device. We will take our learnings and refocus our efforts on a new approach that will allow us to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world in the future.”

Of course, one could wonder if game streaming is still ready for the spotlight. Google recently announced that it was shutting down its Stadia game streaming service. However, unlike Google, Microsoft already has a foothold in the gaming market. As such, it does not need to entice established gamers to join its services. In fact, it already offers Xbox Cloud Gaming as part of its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service. As such, more gamers would be willing to try out the service. But will they agree to buying a whole new console to try it out? We will have to wait and see.

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Shrey Pacheco

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