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The Xbox Team Just Revealed A Huge Gaming Roadmap

Xbox logo on a tree Xbox
By Monica J. White/

Xbox has just dropped a whole lot of news, all with a clear goal: building the go-to gaming platform over the next 20 years. In the world of gaming, 20 years is the equivalent of eternity, so Microsoft is certainly looking far — but it's hard to deny that its plans sound thrilling. In its announcements, Xbox managed to cover a lot, from expanding the reach of the Xbox app to various cloud gaming announcements, including further integration with Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge. Improvements for the Xbox Game Pass are also on the way, and if you're an artsy person who likes to express themselves, you'll be pleased to hear about the changes being introduced by the Xbox Design Lab.

Where to even begin? Xbox certainly leaves us with a lot to cover, but that's great news for gaming enthusiasts. One of the biggest milestones that Xbox managed to hit this time around is the fact that it's bringing the Xbox app to Samsung 2022 Smart TVs. This means you won't need a console in order to play your favorite games, provided you have a very recent Samsung Smart TV and an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. You won't even need the membership if all you intend to play is "Fortnite," as that title arrives free of charge. This is huge — as console games are usually played on a TV, Xbox is essentially turning your smart TV into a cloud gaming device with very few hoops to jump through. This feature will open up on June 30.

Xbox emphasizes cloud gaming in its roadmap

Xbox controller Diego Thomazini/Shutterstock

The focus on cloud gaming continues throughout the rest of the announcement, emphasizing how much Xbox is trying to make its services accessible even to those who don't have a console or a beastly gaming PC. As of June 9, the Xbox Cloud Gaming Beta is opening up to players in more parts of the world — Argentina and New Zealand. This means that gamers in these countries (as well as everywhere else that has access to the service) can play various games from the cloud on all kinds of devices, including Apple and Android phones and tablets, Xbox consoles, Windows PCs, and soon enough, Samsung Smart TVs.

Microsoft's gaming focus also stretches to its own Windows 11 operating system and its Microsoft Edge browser. As such, further Xbox and gaming improvements are coming to both. Windowed games are receiving a lot of optimizations, all of which are currently being tested in the Windows Insider program. When these changes go live, you should see improvements in latency. Windows users will also gain access to Auto HDR and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technologies when gaming in windowed mode.

Microsoft is also adding a new HDR calibration app that will make it easier to sort out the colors on your HDR display. It's also adding a Controller Bar feature that will provide the users with a list of most recently played games, shortcuts to game launchers, and access to Xbox Cloud Gaming without a mouse and a keyboard. Lastly, a Game Pass Widget is being added that should simplify finding new games to play and browsing the titles you've already tried.

Microsoft Edge and Xbox Game Pass both level up

Laptop and desktop with Xbox gaming Microsoft/Xbox

Microsoft Edge may not be the favorite browser for most users, with only a 5.92% market share in the United States in 2021 compared to Google Chrome's 48.74% (via Statista). As such, it's no wonder that Microsoft continues to try to entice more users to try out Edge, this time by promoting further integration with Xbox Cloud Gaming. The browser will receive a new personalized gaming home page with everything gamers usually like to engage with, including the Xbox Cloud Gaming library and access to games as well as live streams and game highlights. There's also a new built-in Clarity Boost that should make everything look sharper and more HD when using Edge on Windows for cloud gaming purposes.

Casual gaming fans get a little treat too, with a new Games menu that provides access to free games such as Microsoft Solitaire, Microsoft Jewel, Surf, and Atari Asteroids. There's also a new Efficiency Mode that will improve gaming performance across the board on both Windows 10 and 11 by simply reducing the resources allocated to the browser as soon as you launch a PC game.

Microsoft also teased a tantalizing bit of news about the Game Pass Membership. Starting later in 2022, the company hopes to make it possible for gamers to play games they bought outside of the Xbox Game Pass library, all through cloud gaming. There's also Project Moorcroft — a new program focused on helping people discover new games to play through a series of curated demos.

Xbox Design Lab is the cherry on top

Xbox Design Lab controller Xbox

Xbox Design Lab is a service that lets you customize your Xbox wireless controller in a large number of ways, and now, Xbox is expanding it even further. The service already allows for loads of various customization options, and now, new colors have been added, all pastel — soft pink, soft orange, soft green, and soft purple. There are also new Camo Top cases with matching side caps: Mineral Camo, Arctic Camo, Forest Camo, Blaze Camo, and Sandglow Camo. And there's a new Pride design too, as you'll see above and below.

The service is now available in 11 new countries: New Zealand, Australia, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, and Switzerland. Xbox hopes to add Taiwan to the list in the summer of 2022. 

This is probably just the beginning of Xbox news we'll be able to share with you in the coming days. If you want to watch the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on Sunday, June 12, make sure to tune in or check back here for updates — we'll keep you posted.

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