Microsoft Confirms Xbox ‘Scarlett’ And New Game Streaming Service

This week, Microsoft is in Los Angeles where the company announced that they acquired five gaming studios and that they are working on next-gen consoles as well as a new game streaming service.

Phil Spencer said that the company’s cloud engineers are working to bring console-quality games streaming to any device. Microsoft already allows in-home game streaming with its Xbox console and the Xbox app on the PC and this streaming service is a natural extension of that experience. It’s also not hard to imagine that the streaming service will be linked to Xbox Game Pass too.

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Spencer also confirmed that the company is working on new iterations of the Xbox console but this shouldn’t come as a big surprise. I have been told that the codename for the next series of devices is currently Scarlett but I don’t know a timeline for release at this time.

But, seeing as streaming is going to be a focus, the company’s mixed reality headsets are evolving to have more features and applications, and the company’s ability to have one game run on multiple platforms, it’s not too hard to imagine what the company may include in the next iteration of the console hardware.

Any way you look at it, Microsoft has put a considerable amount of effort into making the Xbox brand exciting and the future looks promising for those invested in the ecosystem.

Update: After reviewing some internal docs, it’s Scarlett, with two t’s, not one.

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Conversation 24 comments

  • Ulfvar

    10 June, 2018 - 6:45 pm

    <p>Good news for the future, but for the present it's extremely hard for me to get excited about this when xbox live and xbox game pass are not available in my country. So much for "gamers" first, just gamers in the U.S,</p>

    • IanYates82

      Premium Member
      10 June, 2018 - 11:48 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#283035"><em>In reply to Ulfvar:</em></a></blockquote><p>Which country? </p><p><br></p><p>We in Australia are usually in the second or third waves of MS products (usually America, then Europe, then us and NZ and a few others). For xbox stuff we've been well served. </p><p>So sorry to hear you can get the service ? </p><p>are you in the middle east, eastern Europe? </p>

      • Ulfvar

        11 June, 2018 - 5:29 am

        <blockquote><a href="#283058"><em>In reply to IanYates82:</em></a></blockquote><p>I'm in europe. Iceland specifically, we are a tiny market so we are very often ignored by microsoft, apple and amazon. </p><p>So any wave of MS products has not been seen here lol</p>

    • lecter

      11 June, 2018 - 7:01 am

      <blockquote><a href="#283035"><em>In reply to Ulfvar:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Here in Romania there are no official Xbox services either, so online prepaid cards are pretty much the way to go, there doesn't seem to be actual geoblocking of the services themselves, just the ability to pay for them. Ridiculous, if you think about it…Microsoft only blocks my ability to give them money :D</p>

      • Ulfvar

        11 June, 2018 - 7:09 am

        <blockquote><a href="#283085"><em>In reply to lecter:</em></a></blockquote><p>Haha exactly, I would spend so much more on my xbox if they made it easier for me.</p><p>I buy prepaid cards from a local store, but game pass seems to be georestricted, I have bought 3 codes that do not work in my region and have had to get a refund each time.</p>

  • Daniel D

    10 June, 2018 - 8:06 pm

    <p>For years Microsoft kept shutting down Games Studios that it acquired and now it goes out and buys five more! Does this company have any consistency anymore? I would imagine that if you are a good developer at one of these companies you would be updating your resume and getting ready to jump. Saves waiting around for Microsoft to flip flop on its strategies.</p>

    • EraseYourself

      10 June, 2018 - 8:48 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#283040"><em>In reply to Daniel_D:</em></a><em> The studios were shut down because they weren't producing. The studios shutdown because what was produced was mediocre. All company’s do this. Those studios may have gone away but the talent was placed elsewhere. They thought they had a solid lineup but after seeing horizon and God of War they needed to invest in creating better games. </em></blockquote><p><br></p>

      • Hifihedgehog2

        11 June, 2018 - 12:20 am

        <blockquote><a href="#283042"><em>In reply to EraseYourself:</em></a></blockquote><blockquote><a href="#283042" target="_blank"><em>In reply to EraseYourself:</em></a></blockquote><p>You can say this, but if the studio were doing well independently before, I and many others are led to believe it is the acquiring company who is at fault for mismanagement. That said, I am not well acquainted with Microsoft’s track record so perhaps there is more to it than that. However, I am very familiar with Disney’s track record and their track record is so bad that practically every studio it has bought out has been shuddered or dismantled to minimum operations with LucasArts being a prime example:</p><p><br></p><p>businessinsider.com/inside-disneys-messy-video-game-business-2016-5</p>

      • 2ilent8cho

        11 June, 2018 - 8:29 am

        <blockquote><a href="#283042"><em>In reply to EraseYourself:</em></a><em> Shutdown because the product was mediocre? Like Age of Empires?</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

        • pjosephson

          12 June, 2018 - 6:52 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#283094"><em>In reply to 2ilent8cho:</em></a></blockquote><p>Is Sony shutting down Evolution Games the maker of Drive Club the same? Somehow, MS does it and the devil has arrived.</p>

    • pjosephson

      12 June, 2018 - 6:59 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#283040"><em>In reply to Daniel_D:</em></a></blockquote><p>Sony buys and close studios (they had a blood bath a few years ago closing almost as many studios in a day as Microsoft announced in a day). But , somehow MS gets a bad rap. Everyone does it. Some studios don't meet their needs any longer. Case in point Microsoft had a couple that were Kinect based, thye closed and/or consolidated them. It happens. </p>

  • EraseYourself

    10 June, 2018 - 8:42 pm

    <p>To the person complaining about Xbox game pass being US only. If you are going to complain at least be right about it. </p><p><br></p><p>Xbox Game Pass is available in these markets per the FAQ.</p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Argentina&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Australia&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Austria&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Belgium&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Brazil&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Canada&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Chile&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Colombia&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Czech Rep&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Denmark&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Finland&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">France&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Germany&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Greece&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Hong Kong&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Hungary&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">India&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Ireland&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Israel&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Italy&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Korea&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Mexico&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Netherlands&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">New Zealand&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Norway&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Poland&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Portugal&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Russia&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Saudi Arabia&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Singapore&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Slovakia&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">South Africa&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Spain&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Sweden&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Switzerland&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Taiwan&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Turkey&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">United Arab Emirates&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">UK&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">US</span></p>

    • Ulfvar

      11 June, 2018 - 5:32 am

      <blockquote><a href="#283041"><em>In reply to EraseYourself:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yes I know xbox live and game pass are available in these countries. Mentioning them wouldn't change anything for me though since it's not available in my country.</p><p><br></p><p>The U.S. only comment, that was more about microsoft in general, even though most of their products make it outside of U.S. in some shape or form, they still focus way too heavily on that one market and forget the rest.</p>

  • Finley

    Premium Member
    10 June, 2018 - 10:00 pm

    <p>Wasn't VR supposed to come to the Xbox one? </p>

  • Jorge Garcia

    11 June, 2018 - 2:36 am

    <p>I wonder when X-Box-One quality hardware will become able (size, power-consumption, storage, etc wise) to fit into a reasonably usable (and priced) hand-held device? Two years? Five years? They're rapidly getting to that point where they'd have little to lose in floating out a SEGA Nomad-like portable device. I personally think that an elongated X-Box controller with a 6-inch (not 7 inch, like Nintendo's) display in the middle would be ideal. 720p would be totally acceptable at that size, IMO.</p>

  • Pierre Masse

    11 June, 2018 - 8:10 am

    <p>I still have a hard time to understand where all this fits in the new Microsoft's strategy. First they get rid little by little of their consumers products, and then they invest massively in gaming, which, obviously, is a consumer product. Why?</p>

    • Saxwulf

      11 June, 2018 - 9:40 am

      <blockquote><a href="#283089"><em>In reply to Pierre Masse:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Because they can make money,</p>

      • Pierre Masse

        11 June, 2018 - 4:44 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#283106"><em>In reply to Saxwulf:</em></a></blockquote><p>If that's the real answer i'm sad.</p>

  • dcdevito

    11 June, 2018 - 9:06 am

    <p>I've really ignored most of the gaming news recently, but does anyone know if this streaming service would be available for the PC? </p><p>In other news, I'm stoked Madden 2018's coming to the PC!</p>

  • dcuk7

    12 June, 2018 - 5:30 am

    <p>The funny thing about Xbox game streaming is that by the time it comes out, Microsoft could actually be the last ones to the party!</p><p><br></p><p>Sony has been streaming games via PlayStation Now for long enough to have worked out the kinks and offer a pretty decent service. Now Nintendo has dipped their toe in the water with the recently released Resident Evil 7 for the Switch.</p><p><br></p><p>For everyone saying Microsoft will dominate the gaming landscape when streaming happens, they need to have a look at what Sony and Nintendo has right now!</p>

  • Robert Wade

    12 June, 2018 - 11:41 am

    <p>It sounds more like to me they are eliminating the need for a console. If they have already added controller (eeewww) use on the PC, and they are working on being able to stream console games, then why on earth would you need a console? Wasteful.</p>

    • pjosephson

      12 June, 2018 - 6:29 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#283344"><em>In reply to Robert_Wade:</em></a></blockquote><p>You are so right. Not like game steaming is at its infancy. Not like streaming would not work for a large swath of the world. Not like streaming would be able to do 4K with average connections (PSNow for example only does 720p, maxed out at best 30fps, has fidelty loss from compression and doesn't do high actions games) . I assume Microsof will have a better service but still lots of reasons why streaming will not work for a lot people or not be the best way for gamers to enjoy their games. I also assume one of the devices they are creating will only be for streaming (hopefully with some other streaming servcies built-in like a PSVue compeitor and the normals suspects like Netflix). It will be a lot cheaper and smaller than a console. Not that the atrue full console won't also able to experience streaming it just it will also have true local gaming with no need to depend on the internet being up and running and at good speed. Streaming will have its issues for a large section of the internet. And will continue to be for a long into this next-gen. Plus physical media still will play a strong role in sales. So, like I said. Hopefully if they have streaming only device along with the a standard console I hope it is designed to compete with AppleTV or PSVue service. It gives Microsoft a psossile leg up that Apple does or Google cannot do, a real gaming option for a streaming device. </p>

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    13 June, 2018 - 2:23 am

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