Xbox announced a slew of gaming updates, detailing "what's next for gaming," including the arrival of the Xbox app to Samsung 2022 Smart TVs and updates for Xbox Game Pass members — including Project Mooncroft.
The announcement offers a look at updates rolling out soon, along with the expansion of Xbox Cloud Gaming to more countries such as Argentina and New Zealand, new optimizations coming to Windows 11 such as a new HDR calibration app and a Game Pass widget, along with more customization options in Xbox Design Lab.
One highlight is Xbox partnering with Samsung to bring the Xbox app to 2022 Smart TVs, meaning you won't need an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S to play games on a TV — just good Wi-Fi speeds. Owners of 2022 Samsung TVs will be able to access Game Pass Ultimate titles, and play the now-added Fortnite "without a subscription." It's set to arrive on June 30.
As for Project Mooncroft, it's a new program that offers "new, curated demos of upcoming games" to Xbox Game Pass members. Set to arrive in 2023, its main goal is to allow independent game developers a way to showcase their upcoming games. "Participating developers will be able to see how their demos perform, and be compensated, enabling them to bring their creativity to Xbox and reach new audiences with Game Pass," the announcement states.
Microsoft Edge on desktops will be getting some new gaming features as well, such as Xbox Cloud Gaming updates. This includes a personalized gaming home page featuring news, game guides, live streams and more, a "Built-in Clarity Boost" feature that makes gameplay from the cloud look sharper and clearer, a new "Games" menu offering access to free games like Solitare, and an efficiency mode to help improve gaming performance on Windows 10 and 11 by reducing browser resource usage when a PC game is launched.
“We’re building a platform that can reach billions of players—whether it’s on console, whether it’s on PC, whether it’s through Xbox cloud streaming – where players on any device they want to play on should be able to find the content they want to play," said Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
We're looking forward to seeing these updates in action, but there are more gaming announcements to come during the upcoming Xbox and Bethesda Game Showcase on June 12. Stay tuned for further updates, and in the meantime, check out the best PC Game Pass games to play.
