
Good news! Xbox Cloud Gaming is expanding to yet another brand of TV manufacturer in the near future, allowing more people to take advantage of the service. Bad news! They've announced it at the most awkward time possible.
It's literally been less than 24 hours since Xbox revealed plans to put time limits on Xbox Cloud Gaming for Xbox Game Pass members, and therefore this new announcement is getting a pretty bad reception. Here are just some examples that we've come across on social media over the past hour-or-so:
If we put aside the awkward timing for a moment though, this is a welcome reveal - it means select TCL Smart TVs will be receiving the Xbox app in the coming months, taking away the need for a console if you want to play games.
That said, they do actually reference "cloud playtime" in the announcement, stating that you'll need "cloud playtime included with XBOX Game Pass or sold separately" to get started. There's no mention of the free ad-supported option that's in testing right now though.
"To get started, you will need the XBOX app on a supported Smart TV, a supported controller, and cloud playtime included with XBOX Game Pass or sold separately. Plus, if you have Game Pass, you get an instant library of cloud playable games."
To put this in a more positive light, Xbox Cloud Gaming will essentially become a pay-as-you-go service for non-Xbox Game Pass members from November onwards, which means accessing it on your Smart TV won't require Game Pass at all if you don't want to subscribe, but you'll still need to own the game in order to stream it.
The other thing they mentioned yesterday is that they'd "listen closely to player feedback before and after the change takes effect and share any adjustments we make", so perhaps more changes may be made before November. We'll see.