Xbox chief Phil Spencer seemed to reveal the design of Xbox’s upcoming cloud-focused game-streaming device in a tweet celebrating Fallout’s 25th anniversary, but a Microsoft spokesperson explained in a tweet to Digital Trends that this is just an old prototype.
“The device on Phil’s shelf was an old prototype of Keystone,” the Xbox representative explained. “Earlier this year, we announced that we made the decision to pivot away from the current iteration of Keystone and are taking our learnings to refocus our efforts on a new approach that will allow us to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world in the future. We have nothing more to share today.”
In the tweet, Spencer congratulated Bethesda and its Fallout team for hitting this milestone and included a picture of his shelf that contains some Fallout merch. Spencer’s followers quickly spotted a small, never-before-seen white Xbox device on the top shelf underneath a large sword. This small piece of technology is the old version of a game-streaming device Microsoft was developing code-named Keystone.
Vault Boy left the shelter and stopped by my office to celebrate the #Fallout25 Anniversary. Congratulations to the @Fallout @Bethesda teams on this major milestone for an iconic franchise. pic.twitter.com/hGoN1sAQRK
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) October 10, 2022
Microsoft affirmed that Keystone was in development to Windows Central earlier this year, but also mentioned that Xbox decided to “pivot away from the current iteration” of the device. “We’ve been working on a game-streaming device, code name Keystone, that could be connected to any TV or monitor without the need for a console,” a spokesperson told Windows Central in May 2022. “As part of any technical journey, we are constantly evaluating our efforts, reviewing our learnings, and ensuring we are bringing value to our customers. We have made the decision to pivot away from the current iteration of the Keystone device.”
According to Microsoft, the device in Phil Spencer’s photo is what Xbox planned on releasing before deciding to “refocus our efforts on a new approach.” It’s not a surprise that people thought this was going to actually be what Microsoft released, as Spencer also teased the Xbox Series S and Kojima Productions collaboration by hiding them on his shelf. For now, we’ll just have to wait until Microsoft decides to share more about its new approach.
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