Microsoft may not be putting all their eggs in the cloud-exclusive basket the way Google is doing with Stadia, but there’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that xCloud is still a huge focus for them. At their recent GDC 2019 panel, they went into detail about their vision for the upcoming streaming service, while also giving out some information on how their infrastructure is going to enable them to work toward their ambitions.
Windows Central’s Russell Holly and Easy Allies’ Daniel Bloodworth both put up updates on their respective Twitter pages, which included details from the Microsoft panel. xCloud, it seems, is aiming to become a user-friendly platform that essentially allows you to “play the games you want, with the people you want, on the devices you want.” To serve as illustrations of the same, Microsoft showed off how custom controls will work for Xbox games that you might be playing on your touch screen devices, including the likes of Dead Cells, Cuphead, and Forza Horizon 4.
Microsoft also talked about the infrastructure they have in place for xCloud, which includes, all across the globe, over 135 Edge sites, 54 Azure regions, and north of 161 km of fiber. xCloud also purports cloud awareness, which allows games to “make targeted modifications to enhance gameplay while streaming.”
There’s plenty of other interesting information to be found in the tweets below. Clearly, xCloud is going to be a huge push for Microsoft in the coming months and years, and how well they kick things off isn’t something we have to wait too long to find out- public trials begin later this year, after all.
Gamers are playing on multiple devices, but games frequently don't translate well to other games.
Also, lots of people watch others play games while they play games and chat with friends simultaneously.
Almost all of these services target mobile first. Why not games too? pic.twitter.com/1uMmqjanOU
— Russell Holly @ GDC (@russellholly) March 21, 2019
"I think you guys can do better, and I think your communities deserve better"
Here's an example of Dead Cells custom controller layout. Way better. pic.twitter.com/qgoymsshwS
— Russell Holly @ GDC (@russellholly) March 21, 2019
Cuphead has custom controls too, making way more sense for that game pic.twitter.com/bRhLFJM4mz
— Russell Holly @ GDC (@russellholly) March 21, 2019
Custom controls for Forza pic.twitter.com/8mj19ruKfq
— Daniel Bloodworth (@dbloodworth2) March 21, 2019
Now we're taking about what makes a game Cloud Aware.
Things like having save points scattered in a handful of areas in a big map is a problem for someone playing on a bus. Or making it so you can use your phone gyro to turn it control positioning. pic.twitter.com/m8XgmNnNKg
— Russell Holly @ GDC (@russellholly) March 21, 2019
No need for a streaming version of the game, Cloud Aware tools can be detected and activated on run if you're in an XCloud space instead of on your Xbox at home.
Content test app for devs coming soon, with network sim tools to optimize for different environments pic.twitter.com/vqh9MT97IB
— Russell Holly @ GDC (@russellholly) March 21, 2019
MS current Azure centers pic.twitter.com/AxEjI1Ibk8
— Daniel Bloodworth (@dbloodworth2) March 21, 2019
— Daniel Bloodworth (@dbloodworth2) March 21, 2019
Default touch layout but adaptable per genre/ developer pic.twitter.com/LiSQP3r2uj
— Daniel Bloodworth (@dbloodworth2) March 21, 2019
Menus adapt to controls mobile users expect pic.twitter.com/lsW7smgSNr
— Daniel Bloodworth (@dbloodworth2) March 21, 2019
Developers have controls in Azure to make matchmaking easier. If you're on the same server as someone else, Azure will connect you two first.
Beyond that, location takes priority to ensure quality. pic.twitter.com/IGPTOh874Y
— Russell Holly @ GDC (@russellholly) March 21, 2019
Latency measurement tools are available, because XCloud will never be as good as local gameplay.
But being able to see network details from users with extreme latency problems will make optimizing easier. pic.twitter.com/s2lLhmfcNe
— Russell Holly @ GDC (@russellholly) March 21, 2019
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