Your LG TV is now an Xbox, too — thanks to cloud game streaming
Microsoft’s streaming tech makes LG’s top tellies ready for console-free Xbox gaming...
Your Xbox is, was, and forever will be an Xbox. But Microsoft is keen to let you know that more or less anything with a screen and a web connection can now, kinda, sorta, be an Xbox too, and is taking this week’s big CES 2025 tech show to hammer that point home.
It’s teaming up with LG’s television division to prove it, announcing a partnership that will bring Xbox games, via Microsoft’s cloud gaming platform, to select LG TVs. That’s in addition to some Samsung TVs that already support the service, plus Apple, Amazon Fire and Android devices that can tap into cloud gaming via their respective Xbox apps.
If you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you’ll be able to stream top-tier games directly to LGs TVs without the need for an Xbox console, with Microsoft’s cloud gaming servers doing the heavy lifting while your TV pulls in the resulting video stream. All you’ll need is a controller, a decent broadband connection, and a compatible TV, and you’ll be good to go.
Xbox in your TV
Hundreds of games are available to stream from the Xbox Game Pass library, including first party titles like the Halo, Forza and Gears of War franchises. But a recent update to Xbox streaming allows select titles from your own owned library to be available for streaming, too. It’s only 50 or so games at the moment, but the list includes some massive titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077.
Exactly which LG TVs will be getting the feature isn’t clear yet. LG’s listing states that “service and country availability will be announced at a later date.” It’s a safe bet to assume those models newly announced at CES 2025 will get a look in, and last year’s models too, but beyond that will be anyone’s guess.
Xbox streaming isn’t a particularly hardware intensive application — but the processing units found in anything but high-end TVs aren’t usually super-powered, and a strong, reliable web connection is required to get a good experience from cloud gaming.
