The Xbox that never used to be: Our first realistic test of the ‘Keystone’ cloud streaming console design

what do you want to understand

• A newly discovered Microsoft patent gives us a better look at the canceled Xbox Keystone streaming console.
• The device was designed to sit below the TV and present games via Xbox Game Move.
• Keystone was canceled by the incoming Microsoft, but its replacement could not be priced.

Back in 2021, Microsoft announced that it was moving on to a dedicated streaming tool for Xbox Game Moves. That device was later codenamed Keystone, which took the form of a streaming box that could sit under your TV, cost a fraction of the price of a standard Xbox, and have the ability to play Xbox games. Can provide. Meaning of cloud.

Sadly, apparently Microsoft has canceled plans to ship Xbox Keystones due to its inability to reduce the cost to a level where it makes sense for customers. Xbox CEO Phil Spencer stated in the document that the price of the device would have been around $99 or $129, although the company could not pinpoint this.

This means we’re never actually given the chance to see what the Xbox Keystone looks like. The closest we got so far was a photo posted by Phil Spencer, which was made to include a front view of an Xbox Keystone device on a shelf. It depends on whether we’ve ever paid attention to the console, that is, until now.

Thanks to a patent obtained through Windows Central, we’ll finally be able to take a better look at an area that Microsoft created internally. First, the patent shows that the console adopted a proper square approach with a circle position on the controls, similar to the Twilight round vents on the Xbox Form S. On the front of the box was the Xbox power button and a USB-A port.

On the other hand, there were three alternative ports; HDMI, Ethernet and Tools. An Xbox controller pairing button is visible on the right side of the console, and a circular “Hello from Seattle” plate is visible below, on which the console sits, similar to the Xbox Form X.

This patent was filed in June 2022, which was around the day the first details of the Xbox Keystone were being seen. Unfortunately, the Xbox keystone will never be clearly visible on this specific method, although at least we now know what it would have looked like.