Apple has already boosted the Apple TV after lowering the price to a more affordable $69 and announcing that HBO Now’s streaming service would be exclusive to it (and iOS-based devices) when it launches next month. Next came credible rumors that Apple will be announcing a streaming TV service that would include dozens of the most popular channels for around $30 a month, potentially stealing millions of cable TV customers. Apple TV has already sold over 25 million units, according to Apple, making it the leader in streaming video boxes. Now, though, Apple is rumored to be preparing the most signficant upgrade ever for the Apple TV, which may catapult it into competition with videogame consoles.

A report from Buzzfeed indicates that Apple will announce a new model of its set-top box at the Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Along with being able to stream movies, programming and connectivity with iOS devices, the new Apple TV will also be capable of downloading games from a coordinating App Store, as well as accepting Siri-based voice commands, making it easier for users to start up programs, without the need of a remote.

While Siri will no doubt be a big deal for those seeking convenience from a set-top box (being able to say commands like, “Siri, start up Netflix” or something along those lines), the App Store could be an even bigger deal, as it will likely have games that can be played directly from the Apple TV, making it a set-top console along the same lines as Amazon’s Fire TV. Being able to download or stream games via Cloud would make a big difference for Apple, showing that it’s much more capable of creating game experiences outside of the mobile front.

Key to the new Apple TV would be a significant bump of its CPU and memory, moving up to an A8 chip (or perhaps an A8X as is found in the iPad Air 2) and bosting the available storage well beyond the current 8 GB (probably to 16, but perhaps more) to allow for more app storage. This, plus the now built-in controller APIs for iOS, would mean the new Apple TV would instantly be a quite capable game-playing device, on par with at least an Xbox 360 in graphics processing power, and singificantly better in some effects.

Developers would no doubt be quick to add controller support for existing games, and perhaps develop additional modes and features designed for the TV screen. Many of the tablet games being developed would be perfect for a TV screen, such as Vainglory or Dawn of Titans. With the huge number of iPad-specific games already in the App Store, the new Apple TV would immediately have a very large library of games covering a full range of genres. (The advantage of announcing the new Apple TV at the WWDC in June and then shipping in September would be to give developers a chance to get their games ready for launch.)

The likely starting point for the new Apple TV is $99 (which is why the current device was moved to $69). In fact, Apple’s own web site is revealing when you go to the Apple TV section: the BUy button is labeled “Starting at $69.” A pretty broad hint for a new, more expensive Apple TV to hit the market.

The new Apple TV will ahve several optional services that will add to its appeal: The convenience of streaming music through Apple’s rumored Beats-based music service, along with the possibilities of a streaming TV service, could make it an “all-around” device that’s convenient for all users. This would be strong competition for not only any Android TV device, but even full-priced consoles (especially the older Xbox 360 and PS3, already seeing a sharp downturn in sales).

All of this is just rumor for now, but if Apple does in fact introduce all these features, the Apple TV will be a force to reckon with in the games industry. We’ll see where the possibilities go when the WWDC rolls around in a couple of months.