Microsoft has announced that as of June 29, the Xbox Cloud Gaming beta is available to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members with Windows 10 PCs, and Apple devices. The service is available via browser across 22 countries.
As the name suggests, Xbox Cloud Gaming is a service that allows you to stream games from Xbox hardware in a Microsoft datacenter to your PC/phone/tablet. This means you can hop into your favorite Game Pass titles with friends wherever you want to play, and even access different saves from wherever. "Cloud gaming provides seamless play across your devices," said Catherine Gluckstein, VP and head of Product for Xbox Cloud Gaming, in the statement.
Players won't even necessarily need an Xbox controller to play their favorite games. "Today about one-in-six players who play from the cloud are exclusively using custom touch controls that are enabled for more than 50 games," Gluckstein said. "And of course, you can also play games from the cloud using a compatible Xbox Wireless Controller, or one of the many supported controllers and mobile gaming accessories, including the all-new Backbone One for iOS."
Releasing the Cloud Gaming beta isn't the only notable part of this announcement, though. Microsoft has also apparently made significant improvements to the overall Xbox Cloud Gaming experience, including upgrading Microsoft datacenters with custom Xbox Series X hardware.
"We’ve been upgrading Microsoft datacenters around the globe with the fastest, most powerful Xbox hardware to give you faster load times, improved frame rates, and an experience of a new generation of gaming," the statement said. "To ensure the lowest latency, highest quality experience across the broadest set of devices, we will be streaming at 1080p and up to 60fps. Going forward we’ll continue to innovate and add more features to enhance your cloud gaming experience."
To check out Xbox Cloud Gaming, head to xbox.com/play.
