Xbox Game Streaming app for Windows: touch controls, gyroscope, etc.

Microsoft is in the process of finalizing its Xbox Game Streaming app for Windows PCs, which includes access to streaming games from the company’s xCloud service. We managed to get access to the latest version of the Xbox Game Streaming app for Windows, an unexpected and never-before-seen app. Once released, the app will allow Windows users to stream games from their Xbox Series S / X consoles and xCloud.

Currently, you cannot stream games from newer Xbox consoles to Windows PCs, as this is not supported in the existing Xbox Console Companion app. This new app will fix that and also bring xCloud streaming to Windows PCs for the first time. We first reviewed this xCloud app for Windows last year, and it has improved a lot since then.

The Xbox Remote Play feature, for connecting to Xbox consoles, works the same as the existing console companion. You can remotely wake up an Xbox console, sign in, and play games from anywhere.

There is now full touch support, allowing Surface or other touchscreen devices to play Xbox games without a controller. Microsoft also appears to be preparing some form of gyro support here as well. There is an option to enable it, but it doesn’t seem fully functional yet. This is an internal beta app, so it’s still not complete.

Microsoft also appears to be preparing 1080p streams for xCloud, instead of the 720p that exists today. This would obviously improve the experience on Windows PCs, ahead of the higher resolutions once Microsoft upgraded its xCloud servers to include Xbox Series X hardware.

It’s still unclear when exactly this app will be available more widely. Microsoft is rumored to plan a “What’s New for Games” event for next month, so it’s possible we’ll hear a lot more about the company’s xCloud plans (for web and iOS as well) very soon.