Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has commented on the company’s plans for an Xbox game-streaming device–codenamed Keystone–saying the team decided to rework the unit this past May because it was proving to be too expensive. This Keystone device was recently spotted on Spencer’s shelf, sparking new discussion about it.
Speaking on The Verge’s Decoder podcast, as transcribed by VGC, Spencer said Microsoft opted to focus more on building the new Samsung smart TV Xbox app and shift away from the Keystone device for the time being due to costs coming in higher than it wanted.
With the Series S starting at $300, Spencer said the delta between the S and the streaming device would need to be “pretty significant” for it to make commercial sense. Spencer said the Keystone device, whenever it’s released, needs to be between $100-$130. Spencer’s desire to include a controller in the box made it difficult to hit that price point.