Xbox and LG team up, LG TVs will also be Xbox later this year

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LG TVs will get Xbox Cloud Gaming support at some point in the near future.

An LG TV with the text "This is an Xbox (coming soon to LG Gaming Portal)"
This is an Xbox, that's an Xbox, and soon LG TVs will be Xboxes. (Image credit: Microsoft)

Everything may be an Xbox, but soon, even more things will be Xbox.

That's thanks to a new year team-up between Xbox and LG, bringing support for Xbox Cloud Gaming to LG Smart TVs later this year. As shared on Xbox Wire, these LG TVs will soon allow players to browse and play Xbox games through the Cloud via the upcoming Gaming Portal app.

"Today, we’re excited to announce our collaboration with LG Electronics to bring the Xbox app to their new LG Smart TVs later this year. This means Game Pass Ultimate members will be able to play their games directly from the Xbox app on supported LG Smart TVs via Xbox Cloud Gaming. This gives players even more choice in how they enjoy their favorite games," says Lori Wright, corporate vice president of gaming partnerships and business development at Xbox.

This team-up expands the range of devices players can use Xbox Cloud Gaming with, tying into Microsoft's recent "This is an Xbox" marketing blitz. The feature was already available on Samsung Smart TVs, with Microsoft expanding support to select Amazon Fire Stick models back in 2024.

There's no exact date for when LG Smart TVs will get Xbox Cloud Gaming, but the press release notes that the feature is "coming soon."

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Stream games from a subscription, or some of the titles you already own

DOOM: The Dark Ages is one of many upcoming first-party Xbox games that'll be playable through the Cloud. (Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

Xbox Cloud Gaming is included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, allowing players to access day-one first-party Xbox titles like Bethesda Game Studios' Starfield and Treyarch and Raven's Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Looking ahead, there's currently a packed lineup of new first-party games coming throughout 2025, including Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed and id Software's DOOM: The Dark Ages. Third-party titles are also frequently added to the library, with some upcoming highlights including the console version of 11 bit studios' Frostpunk 2.

Late in 2024, Microsoft finally began rolling out support for players to stream the games they are already own, beginning with 50 titles including spell-slinging RPG Hogwarts Legacy and the chaotic co-op shooter Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. More games are expected to be supported as time goes on.

Currently, streaming owned games also requires Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and the feature is available through the web at Xbox.com/play, as well as via Meta Quest 3 headsets and Samsung Smart TVs. Support is set to expand to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles sometime in 2025, as well as to LG TV Smart TVs.

While Microsoft planned to allow players to directly buy and play games through a unified Xbox app in the U.S, court relief for Google is blocking this planned rollout for the time being. Outside of Cloud gaming, Microsoft is also currently working on a dedicated mobile store with its first-party developers like King, the makers of Candy Crush, though the store has been indefinitely delayed past its original expected July 2024 launch window.

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Samuel Tolbert
Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • HeyCori
    I think Microsoft should start selling controllers with the streaming app built into a USB dongle. "This is a Xbox" is useless without buying a separate controller.
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    HeyCori said:
    I think Microsoft should start selling controllers with the streaming app built into a USB dongle. "This is a Xbox" is useless without buying a separate controller.
    The streaming app is already built-in the TVs: that's what the Samsung and LG deals are about. Fire TVs, phones, and computers get the app from their stores.

    The console controllers support Bluetooth so they are already compatible with the slate of screens supported for streaming. No new product required.

    What they need next is VIZIO and ROKU.
    Because Google TV and NVIDIA SHIELD are doubtful and it will be a cold day in the Mato Grosso when Sony allows XBOX streaming on their TVs. Or anybody else's, for that matter.
    Reply
  • HeyCori
    fjtorres5591 said:
    The streaming app is already built-in the TVs

    Except there are a loooot of TVs that don't have a built-in app. It's one thing to ask people to drop $70 on a controller, and another to ask people to drop $70 on a controller and upgrade their TV.
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    Or they could just drop $60 on a FIRE TV stick MAX to get the XBOX cloud streaming capability on even Sony TVs. (That's why I mentioned ROKU. Bringing them onboard doubles the options for older TVs.)

    Even better, wait on one of Amazon's regular sales (say for Valentine's day) and get a bundle of the stick and the controller for $80 or so. It'll even work with PC monitors as long as they have audio.

    Theoretically they could get a cheap android set-top box and load up the android XBOX app. Those run $25-40 on Amazon. But the Fire TV Max isn't much more and it is guaranteed to work *well*.
    Reply
  • fdruid
    Gee, EVERY TV could be an xbox if they released an Android app that supported TVs. Are they being cheeky about it and just racking on brand exclusivity money? Awful, MS.
    Reply
  • fdruid
    fjtorres5591 said:
    Or they could just drop $60 on a FIRE TV stick MAX to get the XBOX cloud streaming capability on even Sony TVs. (That's why I mentioned ROKU. Bringing them onboard doubles the options for older TVs.)

    Even better, wait on one of Amazon's regular sales (say for Valentine's day) and get a bundle of the stick and the controller for $80 or so. It'll even work with PC monitors as long as they have audio.

    Theoretically they could get a cheap android set-top box and load up the android XBOX app. Those run $25-40 on Amazon. But the Fire TV Max isn't much more and it is guaranteed to work *well*.
    You shouldn't have to "load up" the app, it shouldn't be a thing that tinkerers sideload. It should be in the store.
    Why can't my Android TV from another brand download it? They're doing it wrong.
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    fdruid said:
    You shouldn't have to "load up" the app, it shouldn't be a thing that tinkerers sideload. It should be in the store.
    Why can't my Android TV from another brand download it? They're doing it wrong.
    Because the TV have app stores just like iOS and Android.
    And the TV vendor wants to be paid.

    You do understand that smart tv apps collect and sell user data, right? They use that data for ad targeting. And they get paid for the apps they carry just like phones and consoles.
    So you can download the XBOX android phone app but good look sideloading it if the TV manufacturer doesn't want it there.

    It is not up to Microsoft.
    The TV manufacturer is in control.
    Just like Apple and Google on the phones.

    MS did look into doing their own streaming device to plug into any TV but the cost and complexity to build, sell, and operate it was more trouble than just paying Samsung, Amazon, and LG to put the app on the TV/streamer store. More deals will follow. Just don't ever expect the app on Sony TVs or Apple streamers. No amount of money will get it there.
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    fdruid said:
    Gee, EVERY TV could be an xbox if they released an Android app that supported TVs. Are they being cheeky about it and just racking on brand exclusivity money? Awful, MS.
    Again, it isn't MS blocking you.
    It might be Google or it might be the TV vendor.
    Or both.
    Each TV vendor has its own monetization strategy. And the TV screen space is part of it, for ads, apps, and user data gathering.

    Many viewers, me included, prefer to *limit* the damage by using their own app hosting device. Be it a console (me) or a streaming device.

    To each their own.

    https://hottechtrends.com/why-your-smart-tv-is-flooded-with-ads-the-struggle-for-hardware-profitability/
    Reply