A leak from the Brazilian portal Tecnoblog seems to anticipate Microsoft's plans to expand the Xbox ecosystem through a controller dedicated to Cloud Gaming. According to the information and images leaked, it would be a controller characterized by smaller dimensions and with a direct Wi-Fi connection with Xbox Cloud Gaming, so as to reduce latency during cloud gaming sessions.

Not only that: a controller designed in this way would also allow us to play in the Cloud even with televisions that do not have support for Bluetooth controllers: the TV would only have to connect to the Xbox Cloud via a special app (or via browser), while the controller to play would be connected independently to the service.

However, this is not an absolute novelty: Google had released a conceptually very similar controller for Stadia, its defunct cloud gaming service.

The device, which appeared in some images in black and white colors, looks like a more compact and slightly "squashed" version of the pad we usually use on our consoles. And the most relevant peculiarity lies precisely in the support for integrated Wi-Fi 6 connectivity: thanks to this innovation, we will be able to connect the controller directly to the home network and cloud servers, eliminating the intermediation of devices such as smartphones or PCs. This technical device would aim to drastically reduce the delay in the input of the commands, allowing us to enjoy a much smoother and more responsive gaming experience even when we play on the move.

Going into detail about the leaked technical specifications, the controller would mount a Realtek RTL8730E chip equipped with two 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores and an internal 500 mAh rechargeable battery. In addition to the dual Wi-Fi band at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, there would be support for Bluetooth 5.3, thus ensuring full compatibility with traditional devices. As for the design, we will be able to rely on the classic layout of Xbox keys and sticks, with the presence of the pairing button and the USB-C port positioned at the top.

The idea of a controller capable of connecting directly to the cloud goes hand in hand with the Redmond company's recent strategies aimed at making gaming more and more accessible. Although in the past we have seen the cancellation of projects such as Keystone, the flash drive dedicated to streaming, it seems that the company has not given up on developing accessories optimized for this technology. At the moment, however, there are still no official registrations with certification bodies such as the FCC, so we will have to wait for further confirmation to understand if and when we can add this new controller to our collection.