Microsoft’s Xbox streaming stick and TV app are less than 12 months away — again

In November 2020, Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spencer revealed you would be able to stream Xbox games to your TV in the next 12 months, and in June 2021, the company confirmed it would offer both a smart TV.

It has been 11 months since Spencer said it would be 12 months. The wait isn't over according to both VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb and The Verge's own Tom Warren.

In the next 12 months, we can expect the Xbox puck, which I will remind you is the same phrase Spencer uttered 17 months ago.

Both my colleague Tom and the man who doesn't understand the meaning of the word "vacation" have good reasons to believe that Microsoft is serious this time around. They point to how Microsoft just made the game free to play on any phone or PC as a sign that the initiative has legs.

Xbox Everywhere includes devices like a TV puck for Xbox Cloud Gaming, apps for TVs, and even Microsoft's original plan to let you play all Xbox games you own through the cloud

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) May 5, 2022

We spilled a lot of ink about how well-positioned Microsoft is with cloud gaming and how its Xbox Game Pass subscription service is the true next-gen Xbox, particularly now that it's buying Activision Blizzard.

Cloud gaming has a lot to prove, but when you can just slap a controller on a phone and call it a portable Xbox or load it on a machine like the Steam Deck, it's hard not to see the potential.