Samsung Smart TVs to get Xbox streaming later this month

Samsung's latest lot of Neo QLED 4K and 8K Smart TVs are set to be the first cab off the rank when it comes to Microsoft's efforts to make cloud gaming stick.

Announced overnight, Xbox Games Pass subscribers will now have a new way to play in the form of a dedicated Xbox app for select Smart TVs.

This Xbox app is essentially a portal for the same tech powering Microsoft's existing cloud gaming efforts on Android (and via web browsers). So long as you have a Microsoft account and a decent internet connection, you can wirelessly connect a controller to your TV and jump into major AAA releases like Halo: Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 without having to rely on a dedicated hardware.

You don't even have to download anything. It's the closest yet that Microsoft have gotten to realising the potential of cloud gaming writ large, not to mention their own ambitions to make Xbox Games Pass as ubiquitous as Netflix.

Samsung Australia says that the Xbox app will roll out to local TVs from June 30th, and arrive alongside a secondary Gaming Hub interface that Samsung has developed for their home entertainment hardware going forward.

According to Samsung's Service Business Team President Won-Jin Lee, the launch of Xbox on Samsung TVs represents the latest step in a long-running collaboration between the two companies.

Back in 2020, Microsoft partnered with Samsung on the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20. At the time, both parties sought to position the premium phablet as the premiere destination for those looking to mess with Microsoft's then-nascent cloud streaming service. Going forward, that role seems to have been surrendered to Samsung's TVs. However, it likely won't be long before LG, Sony and the rest get in on the action.