Every other day we get news that another company is ramping up its gaming streaming in some capacity. We've seen Xbox enhance its Edge browser, Google incorporate Nvidia technologies for Stadia, and GeForce now come to LG TVs. All of this is working to build game streaming into a more usable platform, that may eventually eliminate the need for gaming PCs for many altogether.
Microsoft is once again ramping up its streaming efforts by bringing the Xbox App to Samsung 2022 Smart TVs. We've been waiting for this feature to hit for almost a month now, and it should be available in all currently supported countries. This will allow those with a Game Pass Ultimate membership to stream the pretty massive Game Pass collection to their TVs with no extra hardware required.
Well, other than a Bluetooth controller to play with your brand new Samsung screen that is. Thankfully, most Bluetooth controllers will work. All newer Xbox controllers as well as Sony's DualSense have been tested to work just fine, alongside plenty of other Bluetooth offerings. It's worth checking around your house to see if you own one before buying anything new just for this.
The Xbox App has already rolled out in 27 countries so there's a good chance it's already available on compatible TVs. To find it you may need to go through Samsung's Gaming Hub in the user interface. If it's not there, pop into the Samsung App store which is accessible via the Media Hub and have a look for Xbox. We are working on getting our hands on one of these compatible screens ourselves to give it a test, so we'll let you know what the reality is.
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If you don't already have a version of Microsoft's Game Pass subscription, you can often purchase trials for as little as $1. This gives you a good chance to try out the games available and see if the streaming service will even work for you. Those with regular instead of Ultimate can also upgrade on the cheap. Xbox also notes that Fortnite is available to play for free through the App, which should act as a fairly good test before dropping any dollars at all.
You can of course still download and play these games to Xbox consoles or PCs instead of streaming if it doesn't work out so well for whatever reason. There's even a family plan option reportedly in the works, so it could be a good way to get the whole family involved especially as more platforms support the apps.
