Microsoft and Amazon have officially announced a new partnership to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Amazon Fire TV devices. The collaboration will begin in July and will roll out to 25 countries, allowing owners of supported Amazon TVs to play cloud games directly from the Xbox app. You’ll need to own either the Fire TV Stick 4K Max or the Fire TV Stick 4K, and Xbox says that games like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Starfield, Forza Horizon 5, and titles from the Fallout series will be supported.
“The expansion of Xbox gaming to Fire TV devices offers players another option for enjoying their favorite games using devices they already own,” Xbox Experiences and Platforms Engineering VP Ashley McKissick said in a press statement. “For those who don’t own an Xbox console, this provides an affordable and convenient way to get started. With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, there’s something for every type of player. We look forward to having more people join the Xbox gaming community.”
To get started, you’ll need to have the Fire Stick hardware, a Microsoft account, a subscription to Game Pass Ultimate, and a Bluetooth-enabled controller. Xbox and PlayStation controllers are supported, and once you’re connected, you can start playing. Cloud gaming has been a big focus for Xbox for several years now, as the company has continued to develop this technology and fine-tune it.
Last year, plans for Microsoft’s next generation of consoles leaked and showed a focus on “cloud hybrid” technology, and recently, a patent for a console that could stream Xbox games through the cloud was unearthed, though it’s believed this was a previous and unreleased design. In 2022, an Xbox app was released for Samsung TVs and brought cloud gaming to those devices.
Developing dedicated cloud gaming consoles like this have turned out to be more expensive than Microsoft anticipated–Xbox chief Phil Spencer was aiming to release a device priced between $99-$129–but the Amazon Fire Sticks are more affordable in comparison, as their prices start at 4K.