One way of doing that is by making it available on as many platforms as possible. To that end, Microsoft confirmed earlier this year that Xbox Cloud Gaming would be coming to Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One this Holiday, and they’ve now announced that the service has launched for the consoles. This, of course, means that any and all games available on Xbox Game Pass can now be streamed on your console without having to worry about downloading them, as long as you have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

Notably, this also means that Xbox One owners can stream and play even the games that are natively available only on Xbox Series X/S, including the likes of Microsoft Flight Simulator, The Medium, and more. For now, the service will be available on consoles in 25 regions, while Brazil will also be added to that list soon.

Earlier this year, Microsoft also upgraded Xbox Cloud Gaming’s server blades to Xbox Series X hardware, allowing for better performance and resolution for those streaming their games via the service.

Interestingly, earlier this year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer talked about wanting to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming even to rival platforms like PlayStation and Switch, though that remains a distant hope for now. Read more on that through here.

https://youtu.be/2K_sGV1mM7A

Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently took to Twitter, and according to him, it’s actually performing very well. As it turns out, Spencer has had a Steam Deck in his possession for about a week, and has been trying out games on it, including the likes of Age of Empires and Halo, which he says “feels good.” According to Spencer, xCloud “works well” on the Steam Deck- so there you have it. That’s yet another use for Valve’s upcoming device.

Steam Deck is getting a limited launch in some regions of the world this December (with more waves of stock following later in 2022), so we’ll find out soon enough exactly how well the device runs games via xCloud.

Was @valvesoftware this week talking w/ Scott, Erik, Gabe about Steam Deck. After having mine most of the week I can say it's a really nice device. Games with me on the go, screen size, controls all great. Playing Halo and Age feels good, xCloud works well. Congrats SD team. pic.twitter.com/q4hWBvkk85

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) August 13, 2021

In a recent podcast, GamesBeat’s Jeff Grubb – who first broke the aforementioned story – was asked about the Xbox-Kojima deal, to which Grubb replied that the deal is close to being completed, and is now at a stage where it’s no longer likely that it will fall through. Meanwhile, Grubb also stated that Xbox recently recruited former Portal and Left 4 Dead developer Kim Swift as a senior director in the Xbox Cloud Gaming team specifically to work with Kojima on his next game.

“Kim Swift, who’s worked on Portal and Left 4 Dead, and she’s been at [Google] Stadia working as, like, their chief creative person, she’s coming in specifically to work with Kojima on his game,” Grubb said (via Pure Xbox). “[Xbox] didn’t say Kojima, it said in the story it’s about working with independent developers, [but] it’s Kojima.”

“It’s close [to being signed]. It’s at a point where, I think, it’s not going to not get signed. They are just figuring out details basically. And I’ll have more to say about that soon.”

As is always the case with any unverified report, it’s best to take this with a grain of salt for now, even though Grubb’s track record with unannounced details and leaks certainly speaks for itself.

Not longer after news of Kojima’s purported deal with Xbox emerged, a report claimed that he had initially gone to Sony for his next game, who turned him down. Even so, with Death Stranding Director’s Cut coming to the PS5, PlayStation fans still have Kojima content to look forward to.

The legal battle between Apple and Epic really is the gift that keeps on giving. We’re learning more about the inner workings of more companies in a few weeks than we do in most years and its shedding light on quite a few things.

The most recent bit of news involves xCloud and Phil Spencer, and comes in the form of an email sent to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney by Xbox boss Phil Spencer, which surfaced today on ResetEra. In the email, Spencer said that he was still interested in trying to get xCloud on other systems, writing “I did want to just let you know that I have your point on xCloud on other consoles (haven’t given up).”

Spencer has spoken in the past about getting xCloud onto “every screen” possible in the past, so this position isn’t terribly surprising, and it’s good to know that is was something Microsoft was still interested in, at least as recently as August of last year. Xbox Game Pass users can access more than 100 games on Android via the cloud, and the system has seen public betas this year, so it’s likely this is still something Spencer and Microsoft would like to bring to other platforms if they can. Whether or not they’ll be able to is anyone’s guess.

Regardless of cloud streaming’s viability as a global platforming and the infrastructure for it right now, there’s no doubt that streaming tech is only going to continue to grow and become more important as time goes on. Major players like Microsoft, Amazon, and Sony are all taking steps toward that future, and though Nintendo’s focus still remains on its hardware and software pipelines, they haven’t been ignoring the cloud entirely. The likes of Control, Hitman 3, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Resident Evil 7, for instance, have all been released for the Switch in parts of the world as cloud-exclusive releases.

So does that mean that Nintendo is open to bringing more streaming services to its platform? Nintendo and Microsoft clearly like doing business with each other (and reports have suggested that the two will be announcing something together later this year), so does this mean there’s a chance Microsoft’s xCloud eventually makes its way over to the Switch?

Well, not according to industry analyst David Gibson. Taking recently to Twitter, Gibson said that though xCloud on the Switch would make a lot of sense, he has been told directly by Nintendo that they are not going to be putting other streaming services like xCloud on the Switch. Whether that’s something they’re willing to change their minds on down the road remains to be seen, but it seems that’s their firm position right now.

Microsoft has been looking to expand its reach to various platforms, with Game Pass and xCloud both being central to that expansion, so one would imagine that getting those services on platforms with large install bases – like the Switch – would be something they would want. Whether Nintendo agrees to that or not is what’s going to matter, however- here’s hoping we eventually see the day that ends up happening.

Would make a lot of sense @MatPiscatella , but I have had @Nintendo tell me directly they would not put other streaming services on the Switch. Lost opportunity…… https://t.co/Qbs97Z2Ugn

— David Gibson (@gibbogame) April 21, 2021

While Google have been fumbling with Stadia, Microsoft’s approach to cloud technology in gaming has been much more laudable. Striking a balance between focusing on dedicated hardware and investing in cloud tech, Microsoft’s much more measured growth and pace in the area seems like the way to go in an industry that currently doesn’t have the infrastructure to support the ambitions that so many seem to have with cloud gaming. But even so, already, the potential in Microsoft’s cloud has been exciting many with its potential, to the point that even Sony have decided to collaborate with them to make use of their technology.

James Gwertzman, Microsoft’s general manager for gaming cloud, recently spoke in an interview with Game Rant, and talked about what the future holds for cloud gaming in the industry. Gwertzman was formerly the CEO and founder of PlayFab, a company that Microsoft eventually acquired and have used as part of the foundation, alongside Azure, of their cloud initiatives, and according to him, cloud technology is going to allow developers to leverage tools to create the kind of experiences that would not otherwise be possible. Most of that comes down to how cloud technology will not only speed up production, but also make distribution much smoother.

“We have a number of ‘industry priority scenarios,'” he said. “It doesn’t roll off the tongue, but they’re things that we think the industry really cares about today that may be pain points that we’re trying to help with. The first one on our list of five is to accelerate game production with the cloud.

“This act of content creation, once you have it in the cloud, distribution becomes more fluid. We see this with xCloud. It started out as just racking Xboxes in datacenters and streaming it. Now we’re getting more experience with it, and you may be able to build game experiences that would not be possible without running in the cloud. Games were you can have lots of players in a single environment interacting in new ways.

“xCloud was about putting Xboxes in the cloud but the broader term is pixel streaming, where you’re running GPUs in the cloud and streaming it down. Initially pixel streaming is going to be useful in non-gaming scenarios like architecture or retail where you want a 3D experience but you don’t have to have the hardware. That will then move into gaming and you’ll see developers leveraging experiences that go beyond what was possible before.”

Most recently, Microsoft and Asobo Studio relied heavily on Azure’s cloud technology in the development of Microsoft Flight Simulator, which uses real-time data for a lot of elements of its world creation, and the results, as most people would agree, were impressive. There’s little doubt that with sustainable growth, cloud technology can be a huge boon to the medium in more ways than one. Fingers crossed that growth happens on a much more consistent basis going forward.

Of the three platform holders, it seems Microsoft is the one who wants to experiment the most with cloud-based gaming. While Sony has had PlayStation Now for a long time, it feels like Microsoft is the one expanding their reach in that department with Xbox Cloud Gaming, or xCloud as it’s still sometimes referred to. Now it seems they are in the testing stages for the next step.

As detailed by The Verge, Microsoft has now started testing of Xbox Cloud Gaming for web browsers. They even got a chance to look at the first at the UI, which you can see below. Phil Spencer stated they have wanted to bring Cloud Gaming to PC long ago, and this version will also be the one that most likely will be used for iOS users since a dedicated app still looks to be off the table.

There was no information provided for when the official release is, but Microsoft has indicated they want to get it out by Spring of this year.

Game streaming is one of those things that’s kind of floated around for ages, or so it seems, but is just now getting to a point where it’s starting to break more into the mainstream. Microsoft seems to be going all in with their Xbox Cloud Gaming, also known by its codename “xCloud,” which they officially launched earlier this year, and for next year, it’s expanding.

As reported on the official Xbox website, a beta version of Xbox Cloud Gaming will launch on both PC and iOS. Phil Spencer has been talking about it for PC for quite some time. iOS was a little more complicated as Apple basically blocked the app due to their guidelines. Because of that, the iOS version of Game Pass will be through the web browser and apparently not as a dedicated app as it is on Android.

Both of those will launch in Spring 2021, and both will be included at no extra charge for those who subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Spencer has also said they plan to bring it to Xbox consoles at some point as well, but as of now, no time frame for that is known.

While Microsoft just launched what appears to be two fairly successful machines earlier this month, the reality is that the company has slowly been moving in a much different direction than the other two platform owners. While there’s no indication they will stop selling hardware anytime soon, they have branched out significantly in their software and streaming business with services like Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Streaming (or xCloud as some still refer to it as). In the case of the latter, it seems like Microsoft continues to have very long reaching plans.

In an interview with The Verge, Spencer was asked about where this new streaming focus was heading and was given a question of whether it was feasible that we could see a Xbox app on Smart TVs. He said that not only did he see that, he saw it happening within a year. He also went on to explain that ultimately the concept of television and dedicated hardware was in the process of changing, at least in how they are being perceived.

“I think you’re going to see that in the next 12 months. I don’t think anything is going to stop us from doing that. I thought what you said about the TV was spot on. What we used to call a TV was a CRT that’s just throwing an image on the back of a piece of glass that I’m looking at. Now, as you said, a TV is really more of a game console stuffed behind a screen that has an app platform and a Bluetooth stack and a streaming capability. Is it really a TV anymore or is it just the form and function of the devices that we used to have around our TV, consolidated into the one big screen that I’m looking at?

“I do think you’re going to see hardware change. Frankly, even on the console, we see this. One of the primary things that people do on game consoles is watch video; they watch Netflix and Disney Plus and Hulu and everything else. What it’s meant is we actually have to build out an app platform inside of a game console so that these providers can go and build their Spotify app and the different things that run. There’s real hours and hours of usage on these things, which — my N64 didn’t do that. The first Xbox didn’t do that.”

This is in line with previous statements of Xbox Cloud Gaming coming to consoles and PCs as well as a potential streaming stick of some kind. It seems Microsoft’s vision of their streaming service is a grand one, but we’ll just have to wait and see if we really can stream Xbox to our TVs by this time next year.

Like so many other industries, companies are looking at streaming to be a big part of the video game landscape. Sony has been doing it for awhile with PS Now, and Google tried to make big headway with their Stadia service. Microsoft is also making a big play with their Xbox Cloud Gaming, or xCloud as some are still referring to it, as well. It’s already launched on Android devices, for instance, and the plan is to bring it to PC and consoles eventually. But it seems the plans could be even farther reaching.

In an interview with Stratechery, Spencer spoke about the future of Microsoft’s streaming plans. When asked if we could eventually see something for Xbox Cloud Gaming such as the small streaming sticks for your TV that have come from Roku and Amazon Fire, he said that it’s possible and that lower cost hardware is being considered.

“I think you’re going to see lower-priced hardware as part of our ecosystem when you think about streaming sticks and other things that somebody might want to just go plug into their TV and go play via xCloud. You could imagine us even having something that we just included in the Game Pass subscription that gave you an ability to stream xCloud games to your television and buying the controller.”

Cloud gaming has also been tied into Microsoft’s Game Pass service, which is also one of their key features moving forward. There are still a lot of challenges to game streaming that don’t exist for other mediums, however, such as things like data caps and slow internet. But either way, it seems Microsoft is dedicated to it for the time being.