Microsoft is clear: Xbox is no longer a machine, but a way to play. There are consoles, but the idea, in general terms, is that we continue our games or try new titles from practically everything that has a screen and can connect to the internet. From your Xbox and PC desktops, but thanks to the cloud also from mobile phones, web browsers… and even directly from the TV. With that premise as a basis, in 2021 a universal and much cheaper solution than Xbox Series S was devised for gaming: Project Keystone.
Technically, Project Keystone can be defined as a console that does not depend on hardware. It is not an empty shell, mind you, but the purpose of its technology is not to achieve cutting-edge graphics or great performance, but rather it is at the service of Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft’s cloud gaming platform included in Game Pass Ultimate. Three years later we still do not know the future of that initiative, but the revealing patent for the machine has appeared.
Small as a book, but ready for the future Gears of War
The middle Windows Central has located the document registered by Microsoftpresented in June 2022 and patented since December of last year, which shows the appearance and every detail of Project Keystone, being for all intents and purposes a desktop with a very minimalist design: as you will see, at first glance it seems like a simple square base box that, like the other Xbox Series, can be placed both vertically and horizontally.
It’s really easy to estimate the small size of Project Keystone: you only have to look at the three ports on the back (one for the internet cable, one for HDMI and one for power) to see that it wouldn’t have taken up much more space than a book on the shelves, which is a huge plus. On the other hand, the ventilation would be distributed under these connections as well as on the bottom, which is balanced on a tiny round base.
As shown, the rest of the console distributes in a very simplified way the same buttons as any Xbox Series: a button to turn it on, a front USB and a somewhat more discreet button on the side to pair controllers and wireless devices. Now, let its simplicity not disguise its enormous pretension: the reason for Project Keystone to enjoy cutting-edge Next-Gen games through the cloud. The current ones, and those of future Xboxes. What was it all about?
Phil Spencer has a Project Keystone on his shelf, will we see it in stores?
Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s video game division, loves to hide clues about Xbox’s plans. Both by wearing t-shirts at events, and by strategically placing key objects in the background of his office when making announcements from home. You could say that it is an unwritten tradition that a year ago put in our faces what seems to be the prototype of Project Keystone.
In April 2023, Spencer announced the arrival of Game Pass on PC in 40 new countries. That movement further blurred the possibilities of accessing the gaming service and its titles without the need to purchase either the console or the games themselves. However, in a barely concealed way under the box on the right, next to a very striking controller, he unofficially presented the shapes and size of the cloud console.
The other reality is that the fact that there is a prototype and a mock-up only implies Microsoft’s predisposition for the idea, but in no case guarantees that it will be announced or a commercial launch will be planned. What has happened since then?
Detail of the console on Spencer’s bookshelf
According to Windows Central itself, Microsoft decided not continue with the initiative, and it had less to do with the initiative than with the fact of offering it at a really attractive price for the consumer. The original plan, as detailed by Spencer, is for Project Keystone to cost between $99 and $129, and according to what they say, it was not possible for this cloud-based console to reach the shelves without exceeding those margins for the consumer. It makes sense, since by crossing those barriers it is more attractive to get an Xbox Series S that does the same thing.
The other reality is that we do not know if Microsoft has given up or continues to have Project Keystone among its plans and priorities, but the truth is that there are currently several alternatives: the Logitech G Cloud laptop perfectly covers those premises and from January 2023 you can play the Game Pass directly from the TV and without having to buy anything. Well, to be fair, a controller and a Game Pass ultimate subscription are required.
With that panorama, Is it worth launching an Xbox designed exclusively for playing in the cloud? It’s clear that at the right price it’s an interesting way to get a new console and continue to get the most out of Game Pass. The other reality is that Microsoft’s cloud gaming delivers, surprises and gets better every time, but there are still many loose ends to be ironed out in order to move certain games. But we return to the essential: the more options players are given, the better. And at Microsoft they know it very well.
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