Xbox Streaming Stick Could Come In The Future, Phil Spencer Says

To help expand the reach of the Xbox streaming service, xCloud, Microsoft might consider releasing a "streaming stick" for the subscription service, similar to Google' Chromecast offering.

Spencer said on the Stratechery podcast that part of Microsoft's effort to lower the price barrier could be to offer xCloud on a streaming stick that simply gets plugged into a TV.

"I think you're going to see lower-priced hardware as part of our ecosystem when you think about streaming sticks and other things that somebody might want to just go plug into their TV and go play via xCloud," Spencer said, as reported by Stevivor.

Spencer teased that this streaming option could be bundled with Game Pass, so that all you need to buy is a controller to play Xbox games. "You could imagine us even having something that we just included in the Game Pass subscription that gave you an ability to stream xCloud games to your television and buying the controller," Spencer said.

Spencer has previously said he wants xCloud on "every screen." Offering a streaming stick option would certainly go a long way toward helping the service grow to an even wider audience.

This is all part of Microsoft's next-generation strategy--Microsoft doesn't really care if you buy an Xbox Series X or S console because the company also offers its games on PC and mobile through streaming. All of this ties back to Game Pass, which may well be Microsoft's true next-gen platform.