It looks like Microsoft is set to release a new cloud gaming box after journalists spotted what appears to be a downsized Xbox in a photo posted by the company’s Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Fallout series, Spencer posted a photo of his shelves, on which sat gaming paraphernalia from various Bethesda games, the new Logitech Cloud Gaming handheld, and then what appears to be a miniature Xbox on the top shelf.

The Xbox twitter account quickly replied, saying “Now what did we say about putting old prototypes on your shelf boss.”

Spencer has been known for hiding pictures of new hardware and secret messages on his shelf, including the Xbox Series X in the background of a Zoom interview, so this could very well be another one of his tricks.

A cloud gaming box, currently codenamed “Keystone” has been speculated since May, when Microsoft announced it’s Xbox Everywhere initiative. Reports believe that the device will be available within the next twelve months.

Whilst there has been no actual confirmation that this is the rumoured Xbox cloud streaming box, its appearance as a miniature Xbox Series S console does seem to suggest it.

The new device would allow those subscribed to the Xbox Game Pass access to the service remotely without the need for locally downloaded copies.

As the device won’t need gaming hardware such as a GPU, powerful CPU or lots of local storage, it should be cheap to manufacture and ideally, cheap to purchase.

An Xbox Cloud Gaming box would fill a major gap in the market for those unable to afford a console or hefty PC gaming rig, particularly now that console gaming is on the decline.

Allowing users to play their favourite titles without the need for expensive hardware would not only be good for the consumer but would attract developers to both Microsoft’s cloud gaming service and Xbox Game Pass due to access to a much wider audience.

Cloud gaming is set to be the future, bypassing the need for pricey hardware. Premium TVs from the likes of LG and Samsung already boast cloud gaming capabilities, however the new streaming box would allow those without a premium television to access at least Microsoft’s cloud gaming service.