Microsoft Execs Considered Bringing Xbox Cloud Gaming On PS5 Through A Browser

The recent Microsoft vs. FTC court document leaks have unveiled a slew of details and internal talks recently. A new finding reveals that Microsoft executives once had a discussion about Xbox Cloud Gaming and wanted to bring the feature to the PlayStation 5 consoles. According to Tom Warren on Twitter, the senior editor at The Verge, the executives were also wondering whether it would even work on a PS5 and if Sony would allow it.

Xbox executives pondering whether Xbox Cloud Gaming could work on a PS5 through a browser and whether Sony would block it pic.twitter.com/pdjnyVQ8hv

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) September 18, 2023

In a conversation involving Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond, a Microsoft executive pondered whether an Xcloud subscriber (through XGPU) could stream a game to PS5 via the browser in the current time frame. He argued that it would not result in an Xbox purchase but still bring a subscriber to the service. “And therefore ‘anyone’ can still play.”

If Sony supports the necessary browser requirements then we could see people streaming on PS5. I don’t have insight into their roadmap. We have seen through telemetry someone has already tried — it crashed because their browser didn’t support controller in the way we expected,” replied another executive.

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Another executive wondered “if Sony would actively block it.” We know that the talk never blossomed into an idea that was pursued by either Microsoft or Sony behind the scenes. Some other leaked conversations have confirmed that Phil considered buying Nintendo, calling it a “career moment.” The Microsoft CEO also said that last year was a “disaster situation” for Xbox.

It is worth noting that PlayStation 5 does not even directly support a browser. It is possible to work around that and use a limited version of the browser, but it is far from worth it in the end with our smartphones and other devices lying around. Additionally, PS5 users believe that Sony would never let Microsoft bring such a feature to its ecosystem. These were simply dialogs that likely never led to anything more among execs.

The leaks have unveiled plenty of other personal details about Microsoft and the Xbox brand. An email regarding Phil Spencer’s reaction to the PlayStation 5 reveal also seemingly surfaced; Phil was quite satisfied and confident with having higher specs in the Xbox Series X than the PS5. Moreover, we also know that the next-gen of consoles — especially next-gen Xbox consoles — will begin in 2028, according to more internal doc leaks.