Microsoft's Xbox Series X is about to get very close to Facebook Gaming This is because Microsoft has shut down its own live streaming platform, Mixer

With this rather surprising announcement, Microsoft is pushing Mixer users and partners to Facebook's live streaming service and will shut down Mixer in a month after July 22, all Mixer apps and sites will automatically redirected to Facebook Gaming

Microsoft's decision to end Mixer is surprising, given that the company has been ramping up its gaming services, especially in its Xbox division Redmond's company acquired the Beam live streaming platform in 2016 and renamed it Mixer in 2017 However, Mixer did not seem to grow as Microsoft had hoped, falling behind Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming

"We got off to a pretty slow start in terms of how Mixer's monthly active viewership compares to some of the big boys," Phil Spencer, Microsoft's head of gaming, told The Verge

"I think the Mixer community will really benefit from the broad audience Facebook has through its properties and Facebook's ability to reach gamers in a very seamless way through its social platforms

The partnership with Facebook Gaming is about five months ahead of the release of the Xbox Series X The Xbox Series X is scheduled to be released at the end of this year Therefore, when Microsoft's next-generation console launches, it will likely have native Facebook Gaming support for those who want to stream games

By working with Facebook, Microsoft can not only make the Xbox Series X a success, but also focus its resources on its own streaming service project xCloud will use the power of Microsoft's cloud infrastructure to stream Xbox game streaming service, currently in beta, that streams games to Android devices

Project xCloud will be in full swing toward the end of the year and will be bundled with Xbox Game Pass subscriptions xCloud will be integrated into Facebook Gaming, The Verge reported, allowing live stream viewers to play the game they are watching The Verge reported that xCloud will be integrated into Facebook Gaming, allowing live stream viewers to immediately play the game they are watching

"When we think about xCloud and the opportunity to unleash the gameplay of 2 billion players, we know it will be critically important for our service to find a large audience, and Facebook clearly provides that opportunity," Spencer said, Microsoft's big ambitions for xCloud

By tapping into a large number of users, Microsoft can scale Project xCloud This could make xCloud a truly comprehensive game streaming service, something others have failed to do, and could make gaming consoles obsolete in a few years