If you’ve ever looked at your LG TV and thought, ‘Man, I sure wish it was an Xbox,’ then you’re in luck. At CES, LG and Microsoft announced a partnership that will bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to LG Smart TVs.
The deal? If your TV runs webOS and supports LG’s Gaming Portal, you can stream Xbox games directly from the Xbox app. No console, no problem, just as long as you’re armed with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
But LG isn’t just slapping an Xbox app on its TVs and calling it a day. The LG Gaming Portal, described as a versatile, gaming-centric hub, aims to make navigating cloud gaming as smooth as butter on a hot pan. Expect tailored game recommendations, editor picks, and the like.
But while this all sounds wonderful, there is an obvious catch. On the surface, Cloud gaming sounds great – no expensive hardware, instant access to a massive library, and the ability to swap between games like you’re changing Netflix shows.
But as we’ve seen time and time again, it all hinges on one not-so-tiny detail: your internet connection. If your Wi-Fi still stutters whenever someone watches TikTok in the other room, prepare for some high-definition frustration.
That obvious elephant aside, LG is betting big on gaming with this partnership, and it’s not hard to see why. With competitors like Samsung already integrating cloud gaming services, it’s a race to see who can make “your TV is now a console” the new normal.
We don’t know which LG TVs will be included in this partnership. However, you’re probably in luck if your LG TV supports the Gaming Portal. Details on rollout timelines are also still hazy, but both LG and Microsoft promise more updates soon.
In the meantime, if you own an LG Smart TV, it might be time to dust off that Game Pass Ultimate subscription, plug in your best controller, and prepare your couch for some serious quality time. Because soon, when someone asks if you own an Xbox, the answer might be: Yeah, it’s my TV.