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[Bartski]

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/06/27/xbox-cloud-gaming-amazon-fire-tv/

Xbox Gaming Coming to Amazon Fire TV: Play More Games, No Console Needed​

• Ashley McKissick, Corporate Vice President, Xbox Experiences and Platforms Engineering

At Xbox, we’re committed to bringing the joy and community of gaming to everyone. Today, we’re announcing a collaboration with Amazon where Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in over 25 countries can play games directly from the Xbox app on select Fire TV devices via cloud gaming, giving people even more choice in how they play their favorite games.
The Xbox app will soon be available on the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023) ($59.99) and Fire TV Stick 4K (2023) ($49.99). For people new to console gaming, or for those looking for another way to play, it’s a great low-cost, convenient, and portable option to enjoy a huge library of incredible games.
To get started, players just need a Fire TV Stick, a Bluetooth-enabled wireless controller, and an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership to gain instant access to hundreds of phenomenal games, including Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Starfield, and Forza Horizon 5, among others.
Plus, Bethesda Game Studios’ beloved Fallout games are also available with Game Pass Ultimate, including Fallout 76 and Fallout 4. Fallout fans will be able to play these games on select Amazon Fire TV devices alongside the acclaimed Fallout TV show on Prime Video, which released in April.

Once downloaded, the Xbox app is designed to offer a smooth and seamless experience. Here’s how it works:

• Simply install and launch the Xbox app from your Fire TV device.
• Sign in with your Microsoft account to play. If you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, you’ll have instant access to hundreds of cloud-enabled games.
• Not a member? No worries! You can join Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for one low monthly price, or check out Fortnite without a membership.
• Connect a Bluetooth-enabled wireless controller. Controllers like the Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Adaptive Controller, PlayStation DualSense, or DualShock 4 controller are all compatible.
• Start Playing!

Over the past several years, we have been on a journey to deliver cloud gaming to more devices and to more people around the globe. We are excited to add Fire TV to our growing family of cloud gaming devices and eager to welcome new players into this experience.
Stay tuned for additional details. You can read about Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) on Fire TV devices at Amazon’s blog here, and to learn more about Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta), visit xbox.com/cloudgaming.

"The expansion of Xbox gaming to Fire TV devices offers players another option," Microsoft surprisingly partners with Amazon to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming

Microsoft and Amazon have kindled an unexpected partnership to deliver Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's cloud gaming platform via Amazon Fire Stick, in a boost for the platform.

www.windowscentral.com

Microsoft and Amazon have kindled an unexpected partnership to deliver Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's cloud gaming platform via Amazon Fire Stick, in a boost for the platform.

Xbox Cloud Gaming is a great option for those who don't fancy shelling out for a pricey video game console or gaming PC, offering hundreds of games for a $15 per month fee bundled with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Playable on Android devices, iOS via the web at xbox.com/play, Xbox consoles, and Samsung TVs, Xbox Cloud Gaming streams Xbox games over the internet, bypassing the need for powerful local hardware.

Xbox games are still designed for television screens, however, and playing many cloud games on a phone can be a fiddly affair, even with the best Xbox cloud gaming mobile controllers. Even if you don't have an Xbox console, Xbox Cloud Games play best on a TV, but up until now, only Samsung TVs had the privilege. Samsung TVs with the necessary gaming hub feature can be quite pricey too, but what if there was a cheaper way?

Now, you can use a $40 Amazon Fire TV stick and connect it straight up to any monitor, and instantly gain access to Xbox Cloud Gaming. That's right, the big tech cloud rivals are unexpectedly partnering up for Xbox Cloud Gaming, offering a native solution for the first time.

"The expansion of Xbox gaming to Fire TV devices offers players another option for enjoying their favorite games using devices they already own," said Ashley McKissick, who leads Xbox cloud gaming as Xbox CVP for Xbox experiences. "For those who don’t own an Xbox console, this provides an affordable and convenient way to get started. With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, there's something for every type of player. We look forward to having more people join the Xbox gaming community."

"We’re committed to making it easy for customers to access their favorite entertainment experiences with Fire TV," said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Fire TV and Alexa. "We’re excited to work with Microsoft to bring the Xbox app to select Fire TV devices so customers can enjoy a vast library of high-quality games, allowing them to play amazing titles without the need for a console."

Initially, Xbox Cloud Gaming will be available on the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K and Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max models, before potentially expanding to the cheaper HD Amazon Fire Stick Lite model later on. The slightly more expensive Max model supports Wi-Fi 6E, which should give it an edge in connectivity over the 4K Wi-Fi 6 model, should your home network solution support Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, that is.

It seems that Xbox Cloud Gaming on Amazon Fire TV will be available in every region where Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently available, too. Naturally, you will also need a Bluetooth Xbox Series X|S controller to connect up and play via your Fire TV, too.

Amazon and Microsoft are often bitter cloud rivals when it comes to business service applications, going as far to sue each other to gain favor for lucrative governmental contracts. Amazon Gaming and Xbox seem a little more chill, though. Microsoft partners extensively with Amazon's Twitch and Prime Gaming platforms, for example, and Amazon is bringing its New World MMO to Xbox later this year. At the end of the day, it's all just business, and this partnership stands to be mutually beneficial for both.

Amazon has its own nascent cloud gaming platform dubbed Amazon Luna, and you'd think they'd want to proliferate their own service on their own hardware. But cloud gaming is hard, and Microsoft already owns all the pieces of that puzzle since picking up Activision-Blizzard, Bethesda, and various other major global franchises. Microsoft has already started supporting Amazon Luna with its content too anyway, adding Fallout titles to the platform. Of course, Amazon has been instrumental in causing the Fallout franchise to utterly explode in popularity thanks to the Amazon Fallout TV show. So, I'd say that relationships between the two firms are probably quite peachy right now.

What is more interesting is the fact Microsoft is still intent on growing Xbox Cloud Gaming. For a time, it felt as though Microsoft might've been backing away from it. Server capacity has still been an issue in some regions, although Microsoft has gradually worked to repair the delta. NVIDIA GeForce Now has also given Microsoft incredibly strong competition in this space, given that its tech is just so good that it regularly beats Xbox Cloud Gaming for latency and connection stability. Although recently, I've found NVIDIA GeForce Now has had some queue issues of its own.

It was already sort of possible to side-load Xbox Game Pass onto a Fire TV, but being able to get it straight from Amazon's app store will deliver it to a whole new audience. It's also fortuitous timing, since my colleague Zac Bowden discovered a patent for Microsoft's own cancelled Fire TV-like Xbox Keystone just yesterday.

Though, with Microsoft adding an entire new platform into the mix with Amazon Fire TV, I do wonder how server capacities might be impacted. I also wonder what investments Microsoft is making to bring the latency of their experiences up to par with their PC-first brethren. Xbox Cloud Gaming servers are built using Xbox Series X hardware, after all, which aren't necessarily spec'd with video encoding in mind.

In any case, it's great to see Microsoft isn't backing down here. I'm eager for more information on exactly when we'll be able to bring our own games to Xbox Cloud Gaming, though.

 

[Topher]

Rivals are now partners. Quite the twist

 

[Skifi28]

Rivals are now partners. Quite the twist

Now that Google is gone and Amazon a partner, it seems like Xbox has no competition. Fucking monopolies!

 

[Bartski]

I can't believe I'm sharing the Jizz but the magnitude of this is made me

 

[Bartski]

Xbox Gaming Coming to Amazon Fire TV: Play More Games, No Console Needed - Xbox Wire

Today, we're announcing a collaboration with Amazon where Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in over 25 countries can play games directly from the Xbox app on select Fire TV devices via cloud gaming.

news.xbox.com

 

[Punished Miku]

Rivals are now partners. Quite the twist

Fire TV has all kinds of rival video streaming services. I don't know that Amazon ever had aspirations to be the only game streaming in town.

But yeah, this is basically making Firestick an Xbox Keystone.

 

[Mr Moose]

I can't read all of that. It's an app I am assuming?

 

[adamsapple]

Can't wait for the game pass app on my PS5, should be within the next year at this rate.

 

[ShirAhava]

I hope they fix controller support I couldn't keep my xbox controller connected to my fire stick to save my life

 

[Bartski]

I can't read all of that. It's an app I am assuming?

turns out Phil's dongle was Jeff's dongle all along

 

[King Dazzar]

I've given up using my Fire TV Cube's because the advertising just got too much. Its at the point now, when you turn it on, it automatically loads you into the home screen and starts playing a full screen advert. They then added back in a menu bar along the bottom of the advert. But this is you just turning it on.

And then here in the UK, even their video and prime subs are infested with ads on their own shows. You have to pay an additional subscription fee on top of the existing subscription to remove the ads. AND, even then, you'll still get ads before the viewing starts, you just wont see them during what you're watching. This is after you've not only paid for the hardware, but also whilst you're paying them subscription monies.

So, sorry, but fuck Amazon and fuck Xbox. I know where their journey goes.

 

[FoxMcChief]

turns out Phil's dongle was Jeff's dongle all along

 

[Metnut]

Amazon and Microsoft teaming up to bring GAAS and perpetual game rentals without ownership to the masses!

 

[adamsapple]

turns out Phil's dongle was Jeff's dongle all along

 

[Punished Miku]

Seems cool for people to be able to jump in for $40, which is pretty much unprecedented. I have no need for this though and don't want anything associated with Amazon I can avoid. In another couple of years hopefully they can just add the app to TVs and skip the stick altogether.

Pretty insane that you can even use a PS5 controller, so you don't even need to buy that. Just the stick and the sub.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Amazon and Microsoft teaming up to bring GAAS and perpetual game rentals without ownership to the masses!

 

[LordCBH]

Microsoft next week; every Amazon member is an Xbox!

 

[FoxMcChief]

Microsoft next week; every Amazon member is an Xbox!

 

[TrebleShot]

QUESTIONS

DUALSENSE does it support the features
IS res still 1080p as most people use these sticks on 4k tvs.

 

[Beechos]

Seems cool for people to be able to jump in for $40, which is pretty much unprecedented. I have no need for this though and don't want anything associated with Amazon I can avoid. In another couple of years hopefully they can just add the app to TVs and skip the stick altogether.

Pretty insane that you can even use a PS5 controller, so you don't even need to buy that. Just the stick and the sub.

It kinda already is my samsung has gamepass app built in.

Queue time for xcloud is about to skyrocket again.

 

[Topher]

Fire TV has all kinds of rival video streaming services. I don't know that Amazon ever had aspirations to be the only game streaming in town.

But yeah, this is basically making Firestick an Xbox Keystone.

I'm glad to see it frankly. Amazon could have been stubborn like Apple was for so many years regarding Xbox cloud/game pass but instead we see direct cloud competitors who can find areas where they can be partners. That's a good thing for consumers.

 

[Bartski]

Phil looked at Jeff's dongle and said I want my box on it

 

[Dr.brain64]

Not a member? No worries! You can join Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for one low monthly price, or check out Fortnite without a membership.

That's unexpected.

 

[Punished Miku]

Queue time for xcloud is about to skyrocket again.

Yeah, I was thinking that as well. I used it recently and got in instantly a few times which was nice.

 

[Sorcerer]

Can I get Luna on Xbox Series Consoles? That would be interesting because it would bring some GOG to Xbox.

I have no idea why but Xcloud works perfectly for me with crappy cable. My monitor does not even have an ethernet port. I'm kinda stunned at that.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Gamepass included in Prime membership? Yes?

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

Xbox Cloud Gaming is still in beta and doesn't work very well. I've used it for probably around 20 hours and i had all kinds of issues.
Stadia, PS+ and Geforce are/were all a lot smoother experiences. Luna also worked well for me but I barely touched it. Xbox needs to improve that service.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Xbox Cloud Gaming is still in beta and doesn't work very well. I've used it for probably around 20 hours and i had all kinds of issues.
Stadia, PS+ and Geforce are/were all a lot smoother experiences. Luna also worked well for me but I barely touched it. Xbox needs to improve that service.

I’ve used all of the services you mentioned and had zero issue with all of them, including Shadow PC.

Shadow PC allowed me to use a server as a pc for gaming, stream it to my phone, then stream it to my Meta Quest 2 headset to play Half Life Alyx. It truly was a technical feat. I stand by that being a magical moment in gaming for me.

 

[Skifi28]

Microsoft next week; every Amazon member is an Xbox!

What do you mean next week?

 

[PauloRoberto]

Fire Stick 4k has a horrible/slow UI in itself.. and now with a subpar gaming service... God help whoever consumes games like this.

 

[Katatonic]

Good platform for the type of service they provide.

 

[El Muerto]

This was always doable if you install the gamepass apk. But since it's Android there's input lag on top of the lag from streaming so playing xbox games on the fire stick is going to be an awful experience.

 

[LordCBH]

Fire Stick 4k has a horrible/slow UI in itself.. and now with a subpar gaming service... God help whoever consumes games like this.

I don’t have a 4k fire stick. Just whatever like $40 stick they had like two years ago and it is also the laggiest piece of shit I’ve ever used.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Really interesting that they would partner with a competitor instead of releasing their own streaming stick. Heck, I would have guessed they would partner with Roku and Google long before Amazon.

I'm glad to see if frankly. Amazon could have been stubborn like Apple was for so many years regarding Xbox cloud/game pass but instead we see direct cloud competitors who can find areas where they can be partners. That's a good thing for consumers.

How do you mean? Apple and Microsoft are each other’s direct competitor. Every move Microsoft makes is to stave off Apple, and Apple is looking to bring you into their ecosystem.

Xbox Cloud Gaming is still in beta and doesn't work very well. I've used it for probably around 20 hours and i had all kinds of issues.
Stadia, PS+ and Geforce are/were all a lot smoother experiences. Luna also worked well for me but I barely touched it. Xbox needs to improve that service.

xCloud gaming works great for me and seems to do so for most people. It’s quite popular on Reddit, sans the wait times.

I’ve used all of the services you mentioned and had zero issue with all of them, including Shadow PC.

Shadow PC allowed me to use a server as a pc for gaming, stream it to my phone, then stream it to my Meta Quest 2 headset to play Half Life Alyx. It truly was a technical feat. I stand by that being a magical moment in gaming for me.

Shadow PC was great, but they fell behind when they sold the company. I always hoped they’d get bought out by someone big.

 

[Vyse]

Can't wait for the game pass app on my PS5, should be within the next year at this rate.

PS5Pro!

 

[Ozriel]

Amazon and Microsoft teaming up to bring GAAS and perpetual game rentals without ownership to the masses!

Luna was already available on Fire TV

Really interesting that they would partner with a competitor instead of releasing their own streaming stick. Heck, I would have guessed they would partner with Roku and Google long before Amazon.

it would have been extremely daft business to go with their own stick instead of teaming up with the market leader

This is all about GPU subscriptions. Mass market penetration is key

 

[Topher]

How do you mean? Apple and Microsoft are each other’s direct competitor. Every move Microsoft makes is to stave off Apple, and Apple is looking to bring you into their ecosystem.

Apple and Microsoft are not competitors in all facets of their respective business. Apple does not have a cloud service, for example. So not true that the two are jousting with "every move". Apple and Samsung are direct competitors and yet Apple has used Samsung panels in their devices. Many corporations have competitor/partner relationships with other companies.

 

[Banjo64]

Took them long enough to get it right.

They need this on Rokus and as many Android TVs as they can.

 

[Banjo64]

Apple and Microsoft are not competitors in all facets of their respective business. Apple does not have a cloud service, for example. So not true that the two are jousting with "every move". Apple and Samsung are direct competitors and yet Apple has used Samsung panels in their devices. Many corporations have competitor/partner relationships with other companies.

This is true in terms of cloud but Apple’s gaming revenue is insane and even if Apple TV is not a major gaming hub I don’t think they’d dilute their future offer by allowing xCloud. (If that’s even what’s being discussed).

I don’t have a 4k fire stick. Just whatever like $40 stick they had like two years ago and it is also the laggiest piece of shit I’ve ever used.

Amen, Fire Sticks are so bad compared to Roku/Apple TV. I suppose it’s the infinity number of ads you get on Fire Sticks and the convoluted menus?

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

xCloud gaming works great for me and seems to do so for most people. It’s quite popular on Reddit, sans the wait times.

I got disconnected probably about once every 2 hours, and it’s the only cloud service I’ve used where when it does get pixelated, like they all will at times, it’s the only one that wouldn’t really recover from it. With other services I could pause the game for like 3 seconds and the image would be clear again. On xcloud I had to close the game and open it again. It just wouldn’t recover.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

how is it going the Samsung TV parbetship? I saw some TVs with the Xbox logo maybe 2 years ago

 

[spons]

25 countries

Which ones?

Also, I don't get why Android-based devices have been so awful for years and years on end. The only similar device that doesn't seem to be a laggy piece of shit is the latest Apple TV 4K, which is insanely overpowered as it approaches the performance of the M1.

 

[King Dazzar]

Fire Sticks are so bad compared to Roku/Apple TV. I suppose it’s the infinity number of ads you get on Fire Sticks and the convoluted menus?

I love my gen 3 cube for controlling my home stuff. The activities etc you can compile are great, with able to fully control multiple audio & visual devices. And I used to like the freedom you'd get with its Android based OS. But these days, its a control device only due to the heavy ad/sub direction Amazon have gone down. With aggressive monetisation. And beyond that, they've been doing things to stop people changing there ui. So its very much become their device, which you pay for, but they fully control.

I'm back to using my TV's ad free UI ability to interact with apps again. I'm very lucky to have a TV where you can still do that. But I'd like to try an Apple TV and Roku someday. What about Chromecast 4k, any thoughts?

 

[AJUMP23]

Might be a good solution to have my son stream on one TV while I play with him on my xbox.

 

[Topher]

This is true in terms of cloud but Apple’s gaming revenue is insane and even if Apple TV is not a major gaming hub I don’t think they’d dilute their future offer by allowing xCloud. (If that’s even what’s being discussed).

Yeah, but we are not talking about the same library of games at all here. xCloud is more complimentary to Apple's games than competitors with them. Thankfully Apple relented on this earlier this year.

 

[Kenneth Haight]

Can't wait for the game pass app on my PS5, should be within the next year at this rate.

Then you can sell your Series X

 

[FoxMcChief]

Apple and Microsoft are not competitors in all facets of their respective business. Apple does not have a cloud service, for example. So not true that the two are jousting with "every move". Apple and Samsung are direct competitors and yet Apple has used Samsung panels in their devices. Many corporations have competitor/partner relationships with other companies.

Competition is great for everyone, including the competitors.

 

[FoxMcChief]

how is it going the Samsung TV parbetship? I saw some TVs with the Xbox logo maybe 2 years ago

I assume well. I think with every Samsung tv ad I’ve seen has Xbox cloud portion in it. I think I remember seeing it last during the summer game fest shit show.

 

[FunkMiller]

This is the best move Xbox have made in a long time.

And that Luna shit must have been disastrous for Amazon

 

[Sorcerer]

...................

Really interesting that they would partner with a competitor instead of releasing their own streaming stick. Heck, I would have guessed they would partner with Roku and Google long before Amazon.



How do you mean? Apple and Microsoft are each other’s direct competitor. Every move Microsoft makes is to stave off Apple, and Apple is looking to bring you into their ecosystem.



xCloud gaming works great for me and seems to do so for most people. It’s quite popular on Reddit, sans the wait times.



Shadow PC was great, but they fell behind when they sold the company. I always hoped they’d get bought out by someone big.

Microsoft will never make an inroad in the streaming device market at this point. The battle for Hdmi ports is real. No one is going to give up an Hdmi port just for Microsoft Could Gaming. Better to just have the service on devices that are in a billion homes already and save the cost of manufacturing hardware. As for Amazon it just makes the incentive for buying there devices a little more intriguing.