Xbox Keystone: Unseen Prototype Details Emerge

A recently revealed patent hints at what the scrapped Xbox Keystone console would have looked like. The Xbox Keystone was hinted at in the past by Phil Spencer, but it may never come to fruition.

During the Xbox One generation, Microsoft looked at multiple ways to bring lapsed fans back to the ecosystem. This included the release of Game Pass, which has grown and carried forward to the Xbox Series X/S. Before Game Pass was launched, many Xbox gamers got free games via the Games With Gold service. The Games With Gold service ended in 2023 around the same time that Game Pass received multiple membership tiers. Since the creation of Xbox Game Pass, Xbox has hinted at the idea of a console that exclusively streams Game Pass content through the cloud. A newly revealed patent discloses what the machine would've looked like and how it would perform.

Windows Central recently uncovered the Xbox Keystone that would've acted as a streaming device similar to Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV Stick. This patent included multiple images of the Xbox Keystone console, with a top angle showing a circular pattern similar to the Xbox Series S. The front has the Xbox power button and a rectangular shape that may have been a USB port. The back of the box would have featured an ethernet port, HDMI port, and an oval port presumably intended for a power cable. One side of the machine includes a syncing button intended for controller pairing, and there are ventilation holes on the back and bottom. A circular plate on the bottom would have elevated the streaming device to ensure proper airflow.

Why Isn't the Xbox Keystone Releasing?

Microsoft has been testing xCloud since 2019, and the service remains in beta. This testing likely would've helped ensure that the Xbox Keystone would work optimally. The targeted price tag for the Xbox Keystone was $99 to $129, but Microsoft was never able to make this work. This may suggest that the technology required to stream Xbox Game Pass games through xCloud costs more than the price target. Xbox consoles are often sold at a loss or at the same price that it costs to manufacture them, which further hints that Microsoft couldn't produce this box for $129 or less. Given that technology goes down in price over time, this box may be released in the future.

Given that Phil Spencer has discussed the Xbox Keystone in the past, the device hasn't been a big secret. Although Xbox may have put this device behind it, the concept could contribute to a future project.