Microsoft's Shelved Xbox Cloud Gaming Device Appearance Revealed
TapTechNews on June 27, a newly discovered patent seems to disclose the real appearance of Microsoft's shelved Xbox cloud gaming device.
The device, code-named Keystone, was first announced in 2021 and aims to allow players to stream Xbox games to a TV or monitor without the need for a game console. However, due to the failure to produce a sufficiently cheap device at an appropriate price, Xbox suspended the R & D work of this device.
A patent filed in June 2022 discovered by WindowsCentral seems to reveal what Microsoft envisioned for this device at that time. The device is square-shaped with a circular area on the top, similar to the circular ventilation holes of the Xbox Series S. The front of the device (which had appeared in the photo posted by Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft's game department) has an Xbox power button and a USB-A interface. The back of the device has HDMI, Ethernet, and power connectors. There seems to be a button on the side for pairing controllers, and a circular base at the bottom similar to that of the Xbox Series X game console.
TapTechNews noted that at the end of 2022, Xbox boss Spencer said that due to difficulties in controlling the production cost, Microsoft decided to downgrade the development priority of Keystone. He said that the company manufactured Keystone and let some employees take it home for testing. Although it ran well, the production cost was too high to be bundled with the controller for sale.
Spencer said, I don't want to disclose the specific price, but I think the price should be between $129 and $99, which makes sense. Unfortunately, we didn't reach this goal. We didn't include the controller. I really appreciate the efforts of the team. The reason why it appears on my shelf is that the team rolled up their sleeves and made this thing in just nine months. Many of us took it home for testing and it ran extremely well, really very well. When developing a new product, we always need to consider whether we have the right design, user interface, and customer positioning. Customer positioning includes price, and we all realize that our pricing strategy has a little problem.