Your Samsung 4K TV could soon be able to play Xbox games without a console

Samsung could be gearing up to launch a new update which will let owners of its 4K and 8K TVs play the latest and greatest Xbox games without needing to have an Xbox Series X console. It’s rumoured that Microsoft and Samsung could be about to announce the latest expansion of their ongoing partnership, which this time around will add Xbox Cloud Gaming to Samsung TVs. For those not in the know, Xbox Cloud Gaming is part of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription, and as the name suggests lets you play games simply over a broadband connection via the cloud.

Game Pass, which has been dubbed gaming’s answer to Netflix, offers subscribers access to a library of hundreds of games for a monthly fee.

Besides access to hit third-party games such as Marvel’s Avengers and FIFA, Game Pass subscribers can also play exclusive first-party Microsoft games like Halo Infinite as soon as they launch.

While this service is an ideal companion to an Xbox Series X or S console, you can also play hundreds of games via the Cloud.

If you subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (£10.99 per month) you’ll be able to play hundreds of games via the cloud on your laptop or smartphone.

And it’s been claimed that this week Samsung and Microsoft will announce Cloud Gaming is coming to Samsung TVs too.

This news was revealed by Tom Henderson, a leaker known for his accurate leaks about the Call of Duty and Battlefield series.

In a recent article online for Exputer, Henderson claimed on Thursday June 9 Microsoft will reveal some major Xbox announcements ahead of the big Summer Game Fest gaming event.

Besides announcing Cloud Gaming is coming to Samsung TVs, Microsoft will allegedly announce Game Pass will also be getting a new Game Demo service in 2023.

This is believed to be a direct response to Sony’s Game Trials feature of its revamped PS Plus, which lets subscribers play a few hours of a wide range of new games entirely for free.

While demos have long existed, this will give gamers considerably more play time with a game they may be interested in.

If Microsoft does announce these features, it could significantly help boost the amount of people that subscribe to Xbox Game Pass.

Ever since the Xbox Series X launched back in November 2020 it – like the PS5 – has been hard to come by, with this situation only looking better in recent months.

If you’ve been struggling to purchase an Xbox Series X since launch, and have a Samsung TV, the upcoming Cloud Gaming feature may make you think of doing away entirely with a traditional console.

Besides saving money on the cost of a console, it also means you won’t need to worry about hunting around for stock when the Xbox Series X is hard to come by.

You will still however need to have a controller that can connect to your Samsung TV.

While specs for this service haven’t been announced, it’s likely Cloud Gaming support will only be available for Samsung TVs that support Bluetooth.

This will make it easy for you to hook up a controller to play one of the hundreds of cloud games available with Game Pass.

One such controller you could do this with is the comfy Xbox Series X or S joypads. But if you have an old PS4 controller lying around the house you’d be able to use this as well.

It’s believed Microsoft will make these rumoured announcements before Summer Game Fest begins.

Summer Game Fest is an annual gaming event where big name devs and publishers unveil new games as well as deliver updates on already announced titles.

Games such as the eagerly anticipated Modern Warfare 2 are already confirmed as making an appearance at the event.

Summer Game Fest begins at 7pm UK time on Thursday June 9, so Xbox could announce all of this rumoured news in the run-up.