In March, Roku CEO Anthony Wood made headlines, declaring that one day in the not too distant future, leading smart TV makers Samsung, LG and Vizio would give up on their proprietary software and instead license TVOS from either Roku, Amazon or Google.
We're a little skeptical about that, considering this latest announcement: Samsung will be the first to embed Samsung's cloud gaming app into its smart TVs, with the consumer electronics maker switching on support in 27 countries through its Samsung Gaming Hub starting June 30.
Last year, Microsoft said it was working with smart TV makers to integrate gaming technology directly into their sets, dispensing of the need for consoles for light gamers.
Samsung TV users will have access to more than 100 games from the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate library, using their favorite Bluetooth controller, but they'll need a subscription. (Microsoft is charging $1 for the first two months, but it's $14.99 a month thereafter.)
The addition of a key gaming app, of course, adds value to Samsung's TVOS. And it calls into question any notion that the Korean CE brand would willingly give up control of its OS to a company like, say, Roku, which doesn't even support games at this point.
