Microsoft's xCloud project will stream Xbox games on phones, tablets and more

Microsoft revealed Monday that it was testing an Xbox game streaming service, currently called Project xCloud.

The company has so far demonstrated its work on the service in a video showing Forza and Halo, games designed to run on an Xbox One console, and played on Android phones and tablets. The games work both with an Xbox wireless controller coupled via Bluetooth and using a superimposed touch screen in the absence of a controller.

"Project xCloud's advanced global gaming broadcast technology will give you the freedom to play on the device you want without being locked by a particular device," said Kareem Choudhry, vice president of Microsoft for cloud games, in a blog post.

Public testing of Microsoft Project xCloud is expected to begin in 2019. Microsoft said they would help them "learn and evolve different volumes and locations." The company has also developed a custom server hardware that hosts the components of multiple Xbox units, with plans to evolve as needed.

When asked if the test would include non-Xbox games such as those on PC or mobile, a Microsoft spokesman said the company was not revealing specific games, but that he was hoping that the service would allow streaming without involving a game developer.

"Our vision is that players have access to the same content via streaming of the game as on other platforms, without any additional work required from the game developer," said the spokesperson.

A streaming Xbox game streaming service was first teased by Microsoft at its press event E3 2018 in June. The streaming services of games themselves are not new: Sony has PlayStation Now service; Ubisoft associates with Google to have Assassin's Flow & Creed Odyssey in Chrome Browser; and Capcom Resident Evil 7 is available on Nintendo Switch in Japan streaming.

But the speed of the Internet, which varies a lot in the world, is often a challenge for these services. For the moment, the Xbox has its Game Pass Service, which currently only provides downloadable games to its subscribers. The PlayStation Now service last month started to support downloadable games.

First published October 8 at 8:43 am Eastern Time.
Update, 10:45 am, Pacific Time: Adds a comment from the Microsoft spokesperson.

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