Comcast pulling its Xbox 360 streaming app

Comcast has revealed it's pulling its Xfinity streaming app for the Xbox 360 console on September 1st. The ISP hasn't made it clear exactly why they're killing the app, other than stating on Twitter that they're reshuffling to make "improvements to our online experience," but it's pretty obvious it was a flop in the face of the Netflix behemoth. First launched in 2012, the Xbox 360 Xfinity app was quickly criticized, especially by Netflix, for its abuse of network neutrality, as video streamed from the app didn't count towards users' data caps.

The app was Comcast's attempt to become a serious player in the streaming video market, especially at a time when the Xbox 360 was seeing more use for streaming entertainment than as a gaming machine. Unfortunately for the ISP, things have changed since 2012, with Netflix continuing to gain millions of new customers and Comcast's attempt to buy Time Warner Cable getting shut down.

The Xfinity app never made its way to the Xbox One console, nor PlayStation systems and any other set-top streaming boxes. It seems unlikely at this point that Comcast will follow-up with another app, but it's not clear yet what "new updates and improvements" the company has for its online experience.

The fact that the Xbox 360 app never offered the ability to watch live TV was another reason it never caught on, but it seems Comcast is pursuing that venture with its new X1 platform, which even offers its own games.

SOURCE Windows Central