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Here's a glimpse of Microsoft's scrapped Xbox cloud console
- Microsoft’s canceled Xbox cloud console, codenamed Keystone, has surfaced in a patent filing, giving us our first look at the unreleased device.
- The console shares design cues with the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X but has a much more compact profile.
- Microsoft paused development for the console in 2022, citing pricing issues.
Canceled Microsoft devices seem to be getting their 15 minutes of fame as of late. We recently got our first look at the unreleased Surface Duo 3, and now a patent filing has revealed details about the Xbox cloud console that Microsoft axed in 2022.
Images included in the patent filing spotted by Windows Central reveal that the Xbox streaming device, codenamed Keystone, looked like a smaller version of the Xbox Series S. It features a circular shape on top, similar to the vent on the full-fledged console, and includes an Xbox power button and a USB-A port on the front edge.
The console’s right side has a single button that could have been used for paring an Xbox controller, while the back features some cooling vents and three ports — HDMI, ethernet, and power. It also has a circular “Hello from Seattle” plate underneath, like the one seen on the Xbox Series X, surrounded by more holes for airflow.
Although the patent does not reveal details about its hardware or software experience, we have some information on why the Xbox cloud console never saw the light of day. A year after Mircosoft first announced plans for the console, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer went on record to say that the company had paused development because it couldn’t achieve the desired price point.
In an interview with The Verge in 2022, Spencer said that the device “was more expensive than we wanted it to be when we actually built it out with the hardware that we had inside. We decided to focus that team’s effort on delivering the smart TV streaming app.”
The resulting Xbox TV app went live that year, and it gives users access to some of the functionality that would have likely been offered on the canceled console. The app can launch games from the Xbox Cloud Gaming service on supported TVs and monitors and supports streaming at 1080p resolution at up to 60fps.