Xbox Isn't Working on a Streaming-Only Console

Along with the Project Scarlett console Microsoft has planned for the next generation of devices, rumors of an Xbox only capable of streaming games have also surfaced from time to time. Speculations about the console asserted that it would be cloud-based and would cost less than what people would typically pay for a traditional Xbox among other rumored details. Doubt was cast on those rumors through later reports, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer has now definitively said the company is not working on a streaming-only Xbox.

GameSpot spoke to Spencer about cloud-based gaming systems and the appeal of traditional consoles and learned from the Xbox chief that there aren't any plans for a console only capable of streaming. Project xCloud, Microsoft's streaming technology that's intended to give players a way to utilize their Xbox in new ways, was often referenced in the discussions of these streaming console rumors. Spencer told GameSpot that the focus now is on Xbox owners being able to use their mobile devices with the console and stated that the company isn't working on the type of console some people thought they were.

"Last year we talked about xCloud and then we said we were working on new game consoles, but that's all I said." Spencer said. "We didn't say that [a streaming console was in the works]. I think maybe some people thought that that was the disc-less one that we just shipped. We are not working on a streaming-only console right now. We are looking at the phone in your pocket as the destination for you to stream, and the console that we have allows you to play the games locally."

The disc-less console Spencer referred to was the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, a console which does not have a disc drive and can only play games digitally. Though still the first modern console of its kind to do so, it's still quite different from what a console would be if it could only play games by streaming them.

Spencer continued to say Microsoft wants to "meet you where you are" regardless of the preferred platform.

"If you bought a big gaming PC and you like playing games there, I want to respect that and meet you where you are and bring the content and services that you want to that device," Spencer continued. "If you want to buy an Xbox, if you want to play Minecraft on a PlayStation, I want to make sure that comes to you there."

Spencer also spoke to GameSpot about the focus Microsoft is taking when it comes to the Project Scarlett console.