Microsoft is working to bring it’s cloud based gaming service termed as ‘xCloud’ to the web browser. According to The Verge, the service is still in testing phase before it can be launched globally.
With PlayStation Now and Google Stadia providing their own services already, its no surprise that cloud based gaming is the upcoming future of gaming. Cloud based gaming allows the user to stream the latest and iconic video games through the internet on any smartphone or PC. In a nutshell, you don’t need a gaming console or even build a high end PC to play your favorite games as the cloud service working on the backend handles everything.
Similar to Stadia, xCloud allows Xbox players to access their games through a browser using any device of any kind. The xCloud service was initially available for Android devices as Apple imposed numerous limitations in regards to their devices. The main reason, primarily, was that Apple told Microsoft that they would need to submit individual games for a review. This was considered to be a bad experience for customers by Microsoft, hence which drove them to release a web version of xCloud so that everyone could enjoy the services of xCloud.
Moreover, xCloud is expected to have a PC version on Windows 10 released soon as well. The Verge has released some images of the service will look like (shown below):
The web version includes a simple launcher with an initial recommendation of different titles to play. However, the ability to resume recently played titles and access to all cloud games requires the user to purchase the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Once the user has everything ready, the web version will launch in full version and the only requirement would be a controller to play the Xbox games.
Currently, the resolution of the streaming service has not been finalized for the web version. It currently uses Xbox One S server blades for it’s existing infrastructure. However, 4K resolution may soon come about once the backend hardware has been upgraded to the respected Xbox Series X components.
So far Microsoft is planning to release a public preview of xCloud in spring. This, nevertheless, shows that the gaming industry is looking to jump from hardware to cloud infrastructure very soon as cloud based gaming becomes more common and prominent.
