( CNN ) -- An update rolling out Tuesday for the Xbox Live network aims to do what Microsoft has been teasing for a while -- turn a platform designed primarily for video games into one that will be the major hub for all television viewing . Microsoft promises the update , which it calls `` the future of TV , '' can `` transform every Xbox 360 into an all-in-one device to enjoy your entertainment . '' `` The update is another huge step toward realizing our vision of bringing you all your entertainment , shared with the people you care about , in an easy way , '' Marc Whitten , Microsoft 's corporate vice president for Xbox Live , wrote on the official Microsoft blog . The Xbox was the first gaming console to include Netflix and has since added entertainment partners such as ESPN , Hulu Plus , AT & T U-verse and last.fm . But Microsoft , hoping a bevy of new apps will up the ante , is adding content from 40 new partners while making existing content easier to view . One of the free update 's key new features will be a voice-control interface that will let users retrieve videos , television channels , games or other content simply by asking for it . The feature combines the Xbox 360 's hands-free Kinect system with technology from Microsoft 's Bing search engine to hunt down the content . Primarily billed as a gaming tool , Kinect uses a 3-D video camera and voice recognition to let the user interact with the TV screen without a controller . The new partners , or updated apps , to be unveiled Tuesday include content from ESPN , Hulu , Netflix and MSNBC in the United States . In the coming weeks and months , Xbox will add YouTube , Best Buy 's CinemaNow , HBO Go , Major League Baseball and Comcast 's Xfinity On Demand . Time Warner , HBO 's parent company , also owns CNN . Microsoft said the update will also add social features , from voting on who you think will win the big game to tools letting you notify friends when you 're tackling a multiplayer game they can join . At a time when technology heavyweights such as Apple and Google are trying to gain footholds in the interactive TV market , some analysts are saying Microsoft has become the player to beat . `` Microsoft has just built and delivered it : A single box that ties together all the content you want , made easily accessible through a universal , natural , voice-directed search , '' wrote James McQuivey of Forrester Research . `` This is now the benchmark against which all other living room initiatives should be compared . '' With 57 million Xbox 360s already in folks ' living rooms , and 35 million of them connected to Xbox Live , McQuivey predicts that adoption of the new features `` will spread quickly and with devastating effect . ''
Xbox Live update promises an all-in-one device for TV viewing . Apps , including content from 40 new partners , will improve TV and video , Microsoft says . Xbox 360 's Kinect system will let users surf channels through voice control and gestures . The company also plans to add a gaming console in the future that would be sold separately with games like Halo Reach available on it.