Xbox Teams With Amazon for Console-Free Gaming

Xbox teamed with Amazon to help gamers access their favorite titles more easily.

The partnership lets members of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate play hundreds of cloud-enabled games through the Xbox app on select Fire TV devices, with no need for a video game console, according to a Monday (Aug. 26) press release.

“This integration brings the vast Xbox Game Pass Ultimate game library to your TV with just a compatible Fire TV Stick or Fire TV Cube and Bluetooth-enabled controller, making gaming more available,” the release said. “From epic RPGs like Starfield and Fallout 4 to high-octane racers like Forza Horizon 5, you can experience console-quality gaming through cloud gaming.”

To get started, users will need a Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023), Fire TV Stick 4K (2023), Fire TV Stick 4K Max (first generation) or a Fire TV Cube (third generation). From there, users can download the Xbox app on their Fire TV device through the Amazon Appstore, install and open the app, and sign in with their Microsoft account, per the release.

“If you’re already an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, you’ll have instant access to stream and play any of the hundreds of cloud-enabled titles in the Game Pass Ultimate library,” the release said.

Last year, Microsoft-owned Xbox said it was investing more than $1 billion per year on content to keep players engaged.

“We have a service that is financially viable, meaning it makes money, in Game Pass,” Microsoft Gaming CEO and Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said. “We’ve put a lot of money into the market, over $1 billion a year supporting third-party games coming into Game Pass. What we see in Game Pass is a service that supports all kinds of games, from the biggest games to the unknown indie games.”

In other Amazon news, the company announced last week it is updating its kid-focused content service, Amazon Kids+, to include new shows, books, podcasts and games.

To keep this digital environment safe for children, Amazon Kids+ is ad-free, provides parental controls to prevent in-app purchases and offers a safe web browser that makes sure kids don’t stumble across inappropriate content or social media, the company said.