Agreed that bandwidth and latency remains a challenge for most people today, especially for non-urban dwellers. For streaming to be the norm, there has to be a fundamental change in how ISPs treat internet connectivity and how the government regulates it. Maybe I'm overly optimistic in how things will play on in this front - in addition to newer technologies like SpaceX's Starlink platform.
The main point is that Microsoft is pivoting its gaming approach to the "gaming-as-a-service" and selling subscriptions, rather than the previous one of selling hardware and individual games. The digital-only editions of both the upcoming new Xbox and Playstation underscore this - plus you can even buy a subscription bundled with a console. Buying up studios help them achieve this vision.
The main point is that Microsoft is pivoting its gaming approach to the "gaming-as-a-service" and selling subscriptions, rather than the previous one of selling hardware and individual games. The digital-only editions of both the upcoming new Xbox and Playstation underscore this - plus you can even buy a subscription bundled with a console. Buying up studios help them achieve this vision.