Samsung has revealed several new TVs at CES 2022, with a range of exotic features like a radio-wave powered remote control and the support for NFTs. Excitingly, the 2022 line-up of Samsung TVs are also the first to let you play triple-A video games from the cloud instead of just your Xbox, PlayStation or PC. Samsung has confirmed that “select” models of their 2022 TV range will offer access to Nvidia’s GeForce Now and Google Stadia as part of a new “Samsung Gaming Hub,” a user interface which Samsung’s intending to expand to additional services as well.
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According to Samsung, the Gaming Hub isn’t just for could gaming. You will be able to connect your consoles via HDMI to the Samsung Gaming Hub, which will include passthrough controller inputs. So you might be able to play cloud games and console games with the same controller, instead of having to maintain separate controllers or pair back and forth, with both PlayStation and Xbox controllers supported at launch.
What remains to be seen is how the TVs are optimised for gaming, or more specific, cloud gaming. The picture and audio quality needs may be different for cloud gaming, which we have yet to see on large TV screens. It is also unclear whether either GeForce Now or Google Stadia would offer 4K streaming, but Google has confirmed that Stadia will have a 4K tier for Stadia Pro subscribers via the Gaming Hub. “We are working with partners to bring their best levels of service to our platform,” said Mike Lucero, Samsung gaming product director. “We will be announcing details as we get closer to launch.”
Interestingly, Xbox Cloud Gaming isn’t included. Microsoft and Samsung have been working closely together on cloud gaming since early 2020.
