If you play Xbox Cloud Gaming on a 2020 Samsung Smart TV, it is time to find another way in. Microsoft has emailed affected users to say that from 3 November 2026 the Xbox app will no longer be supported on those televisions.
What changes in practice
The email went to accounts that have used the Xbox app on a 2020 Samsung Smart TV in the past. According to the message, updates to the technology behind cloud gaming are no longer compatible with the version of the operating system available on these models. Microsoft does not say which technical change made it impossible to carry on.
Samsung TVs from 2021 onwards are not affected: the service keeps working on them. For owners of a 2020 model, the same email suggests moving to a newer TV or playing on a PC, smartphone, tablet or Xbox console.
The technical detail, with a pinch of salt
A more specific explanation is doing the rounds: 2020 Samsung TVs reportedly use a browser based on Chromium 69, released in 2018, while the service would need at least Chromium 70. It should be said that this reading comes from a user on X picked up by Cybernews, not from Microsoft. Talk of a way to cut bandwidth and costs, on the other hand, is pure speculation.
There is also a small inconsistency: when some outlets reported the story, the official Xbox page on TVs still listed Samsung models from 2020 onwards as compatible. It has most likely not been updated yet.
The context: monthly limits are coming
The news lands at a delicate moment for Xbox’s cloud. Also from November, Microsoft is introducing a monthly cap on streaming hours for Game Pass subscribers:
- Ultimate: 15 hours a month
- Premium: 10 hours a month
- Essential: 5 hours a month
Most subscribers currently have no limit at all. According to Microsoft, the change will affect around 4% of subscribers. Once the hours run out, more can be bought from the Xbox Store; the price of the extra hours has not yet been announced, so we have no figures to report for Italy. Also from November, non-subscribers will be able to buy cloud time and play the titles they already own.
Who is really affected
The problem concerns a specific audience: people who bought a 2020 Samsung and use the TV as a console without a physical console. For them, 3 November is a date to mark in the diary. Alternatives exist, and they do not necessarily require a new television:
- a PC or laptop with an up-to-date browser;
- a smartphone or tablet with a controller;
- a stick or external box connected to the TV, if it is compatible with the service;
- an Xbox console, which acts as a streaming client.
The third point is our own suggestion, not one from Microsoft: before buying anything, check the list of supported devices on the Xbox website.
What we think
Two announcements within a few weeks, both narrowing the cloud offering: it is hard not to read them together, even though Microsoft does not link them. A 2020 TV is little more than six years old, an age at which a television should still be working well. The risk for manufacturers is that Smart TVs age faster than their hardware, because the built-in browser stops being updated while services keep evolving.
For gamers, the practical lesson is simple: an external device with guaranteed updates lasts longer than an app preinstalled on the TV. If you own a 2020 Samsung, make the most of the days that remain in the meantime and weigh up the alternative in advance; for a comparison of current televisions, see our guide to the best smart TVs.
Written by the SpazioiTech newsroom with the help of AI tools, from facts verified across at least two independent outlets, and checked before publication. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Translated from the Italian original. Read in Italian
