Xbox Cloud Gaming, also simply known as Xbox Cloud, is a
cloud gaming
Cloud gaming, sometimes called gaming on demand or game streaming, is a type of Online game, online gaming that runs video games on remote Server (computing), servers and Streaming media, streams the game's output (video, sound, etc.) directly to ...
service as part of
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
offered by
Microsoft Gaming
Microsoft Gaming is an American multinational video game and digital entertainment division of Microsoft based in Redmond, Washington, established in 2022. Its five development and publishing labels consist of: Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Soft ...
. Initially released in beta testing in November 2019, the service later launched for subscribers of
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on September 15, 2020. Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming is provided to subscribers of Ultimate at no additional cost. Xbox Cloud Gaming operates by linking the device to a remote server in the cloud.
Development
The ideas for the cloud service came within Microsoft around 2016, around the same time that Kareem Choudhry developed the
Xbox 360 backwards compatibility for the Xbox One. As his team developed this solution, Choudhry also had the idea if they could provide these games without having need of a console, and got Spencer's go-ahead to start a small team to determine the feasibility of cloud gaming. The technology was deemed successful enough at around the time of
Xbox Game Pass
The Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service as part of Xbox and offered by Microsoft Gaming. Launched on June 1, 2017, the service allows users to download and play video games via video game consoles, Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, iPad ...
's introduction that Microsoft assembled a larger team to build up the cloud gaming platform.
Microsoft teased the service at
E3 2018 and formally announced Project xCloud several months later, in October 2018.
They demonstrated the service in March 2019 with the racing game ''
Forza Horizon 4'' playing on an
Android smartphone with an
Xbox One controller
The Xbox Wireless Controller is the primary game controller for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S home video game consoles, also the official controller for use in Windows-based PCs, and compatible with other operating systems such as macOS, Lin ...
. Xbox head
Phil Spencer used a private server during this time to test games on a remote connection. The service entered its home testing phase in May 2019, when it could be used outside the lab environment. It entered public testing later in the year and was unveiled at
E3 2019.
Microsoft said that its Xbox content library will make its service more appealing than competitors such as
Stadia. The hardware at launch used
Xbox One S-based
blade server
A blade server is a stripped-down server computer with a modular design optimized to minimize the use of physical space and energy. Blade servers have many components removed to save space, minimize power consumption and other considerations, wh ...
s, but began to transition to
Xbox Series X
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...
-based servers in June 2021.
Each server initially had four customized Xbox One S-based units for the 2018 teaser, but this was doubled to eight per server in a
2U enclosure for the service's launch in 2019.
Compared to the standard Xbox One S, power consumption has been reduced by 30% through processor-specific power tuning. Video output is set for 120 Hz to reduce latency.
Trials of the service began in October 2019, and as of November 2019, the service hosts 50 games, with support in testing for
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...
's
iOS
Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
mobile devices, and for
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...
's
DualShock
The DualShock (originally Dual Shock, trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK, with the PlayStation 5 version as DualSense) is a line of gamepads developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment) for the PlaySta ...
controllers.
On February 12, 2020, Project xCloud launched on Apple’s mobile operating system in a preview version.
On May 5, 2020, Project xCloud came to Spain (Europe) in preview (Video on live).
Microsoft released Xbox Cloud Gaming across 21 countries in North America and Europe, as well as in South Korea, on September 15, 2020, for select Android devices, with support for more than 150 games at launch.
Xbox Cloud Gaming was released in its beta form for Windows users on August 9, 2021, as a perk of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, though also required users to be registered in the Xbox Insider program. It was officially released as part of the Xbox app for Windows on September 14, 2021, along with Remote Play support from Xbox consoles to a Windows computer. Microsoft introduced a Clarity Boost feature for Windows users through the
Edge browser that provides client-side visual improvements to the streamed content.
Microsoft began rolling out testing of Xbox Cloud Gaming for Xbox One consoles on test channels in October 2021, allowing users on those consoles to play Xbox Series X/S games.
In 2024, Microsoft also rolled out Xbox cloud gaming for the Fire TV series of products.
The internet speed requirements for Xbox Cloud Gaming's service is as follows:
Availability
Xbox Cloud Gaming is available in the following 28 countries, incl. Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
In September 2021, Microsoft expanded the service to Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico. In June 2022, the service was expanded further to include Argentina and New Zealand.
Games
The Xbox Series X/S's backward compatibility allows xCloud to retain the existing library of Xbox games while adding new games from the Xbox Series X/S.
The Xbox Game Pass Library currently lists 382 cloud-enabled games.
The list includes ''
Halo: The Master Chief Collection'', ''
Forza Horizon 5'', ''
The Outer Worlds
''The Outer Worlds'' is a 2019 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Private Division. Set in an alternate future, the game takes place in Halcyon, a distant star system colonized by megacorporations. In ...
'', ''
Yakuza Kiwami 2'', and ''
Microsoft Flight Simulator
''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' is a series of Flight simulation video game, flight simulator programs for MS-DOS, Classic Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and diff ...
''. Microsoft has also announced plans to expand the list of cloud-enabled games to include select Xbox games that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members have purchased from the Microsoft Store.
''
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice'' was the first game to support full
touch controls. Touch controls have since been added to another 186 games.
Microsoft introduced cloud play support for selected original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles using its backward compatibility program starting in March 2021 with 16 titles such as Crimson Skies®: High Road to Revenge™ that are available. Players are able to use cloud-based saved games from the original release of these titles if they have used that service as part of
Xbox Live Gold. Some of the games also support official touch controls when played on mobile devices.
Reception
The service received generally positive initial impressions from reviewers.
Playing over a
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...
LTE connection with just 25 Mbps download speed caused no effect on image quality. Even while playing on a moving bus and train, there was no noticeable loss of image quality.
Reviewers also reported that starting up games on the phone feels faster because the games are running on more powerful remote servers rather than a hard drive on a console. Load times are also minimized and closer to a
PC gaming
A personal computer game, or abbreviated PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer (PC). The term ''PC game'' has been popularly used since the 1990s referring specifically to games on "Wintel" (Micr ...
experience.
Hardware
Xbox Cloud Gaming runs via Microsoft's 54
Azure cloud computing
Cloud computing is "a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand," according to International Organization for ...
centers, hosted in 140 countries.
Microsoft upgraded its
server blades to the more capable Xbox Series X hardware in 2021.
The service is designed to work with phones, either with
touchscreen
A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...
controls or a game controller over
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...
. Notable supported controller models include:
*Official Xbox controllers
**
Xbox Wireless Controller
**
Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 1 and Series 2
**
Xbox Adaptive Controller
The Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC) is a video game controller designed by Microsoft for Windows PCs and the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S video game consoles. The controller was designed for people with disabilities to help make user input for v ...
*
Logitech
**Wireless Gamepad F710
*
Razer Inc.
**Kishi (Xbox edition)
**Kishi v2 (Xbox edition)
**Kishi v2 Pro (Xbox edition)
**Kishi Ultra
**Wolverine v2
**Wolverine v2 Chroma
**Wolverine v3 Pro
**Wolverine v3 Tournament Edition
**Wolverine Ultimate
**Raiju Mobile Gaming Controller for Android
**Junglecat
*
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
**
DualShock 4 Wireless Controller
**
DualSense Wireless Controller
*
SteelSeries
SteelSeries (styled as steelseries), formerly Icemat, is a Danish manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, including headsets, keyboards, mice, controllers, and mousepads. SteelSeries was acquired by GN Store Nord in 2021.
History
St ...
**Stratus XL for Windows, Android, and VR
**Stratus Duo for Windows, Chromebook, Android, and VR
**Stratus+ for Windows, Chromebook, and Android
**Nimbus+ for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Apple TV
*
Backbone Labs
**
Backbone One (Xbox edition)
**Backbone Pro
*
Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
**
Stadia Controller
*
Gamevice
**Gamevice for Android
**Gamevice for iPhone
**Gamevice for iPad
**Flex for Android
**Flex for iPhone
*
Nacon
**MG-X (Xbox edition)
**MG-X Pro (Xbox edition)
**Revolution X Pro Controller
**Revolution X Unlimited Controller
**Pro Compact Controller
**EVOL-X
**EVOL-X Pro
**Daija Arcade Stick (Xbox edition)
*ContrlPWR
**Cloud Gaming Controller for iOS (Xbox edition)
*
PowerA
**MOGA XP5-A Plus
**MOGA XP5-i Plus
**MOGA XP5-X Plus
**MOGA XP7-X Plus
**MOGA XP-ULTRA Multi-Platform Wireless Controller for Mobile, PC and Xbox Series X, S
**Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**Nano Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**Spectra Infinity Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**Symmetric Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**Advantage Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**Advantage Plus Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**Wireless Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**FUSION Pro 2 Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**FUSION Pro 3 Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**FUSION Pro 4 Wired Controller for Xbox Series X, S
**FUSION Pro Wireless Controller for Xbox Series X, S
*
Turtle Beach Corporation
**Recon Controller
**Recon Cloud Hybrid Game Controller
**Atom Controller
**React-R Controller
**Stealth Ultra Wireless Controller with Rapid Charge Dock
**Stealth Pivot Wireless Smart Controller
**Rematch Core Wired Controller
**Afterglow Wave Wired Controller
**PDP Afterglow Wave Wired Controller
**PDP Rematch Advanced Wired Controller
**PDP Neon Wired Controller
**PDP REALMz Wired Controller
**PDP REALMz Wireless Controller
**PDP Riffmaster Wireless Guitar Controller (Xbox edition)
**Victrix Pro KO Leverless Fight Stick (Xbox edition)
**Victrix Pro BFG Wireless Controller (Xbox edition)
**Victrix Gambit Prime Tournament Controller
Mobile devices
Android
Xbox Cloud Gaming works with any Android phone or tablet that has at least
Android 12.0 and
Bluetooth 4.0. Examples of supported devices include the
Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e, the
OnePlus 8 and the
Galaxy S20 Ultra.
In March 2021, Microsoft released an update to the Android Xbox Cloud Gaming client that allows dual-screened devices like the
Surface Duo to use the second screen to host the touch controls. Several notable games such as
Minecraft Dungeons
''Minecraft Dungeons'' is a 2020 dungeon crawler video game developed by Mojang Studios and Double Eleven and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is a spin-off of the sandbox video game ''Minecraft'' and was released for Nintendo Switch, Pla ...
and
New Super Lucky's Tale support the dedicated gamepad on the second screen.
Some games such as
Gears 5 support
motion controls using the device's built in
gyro
Gyro may refer to:
Science and technology
* GYRO, a computer program for tokamak plasma simulation
* Gyro Motor Company, an American aircraft engine manufacturer
* '' Gyrodactylus salaris'', a parasite in salmon
* Gyroscope, an orientation-sta ...
and provide a dedicated control scheme when using the gamepad mode.
In October 2023,
Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads ...
announced an Xbox Cloud Gaming app for
Meta Quest 3 (based on Android source code)
virtual reality headsets
A virtual reality headset (or VR headset) is a head-mounted device that uses 3D near-eye displays and positional tracking to provide a virtual reality environment for the user. VR headsets are widely used with VR video games, but they are als ...
.
iOS
While Microsoft had planned to release xCloud for iOS devices, the company halted iOS testing in August 2020, asserting that policies on the Apple App Store limited what functionality they could provide for the service. Apple clarified that cloud streaming services like xCloud allow Microsoft to release games onto the iOS platform that bypass the normal checks that Apple performs for other apps, and thus refused to allow the app on the platform.
However, in September 2020, Apple altered its rules that allowed xCloud and other cloud gaming apps to work on iOS, with restrictions that each game must be offered as an individual download on the iOS store which the user must use before playing, though catalog apps as part of the service can list and link to these games. Microsoft responded negatively to this change, stating that
Microsoft had considered the possibility of making each game its own application as to satisfy Apple's requirements, according to ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...
'' based on emails uncovered during the ''
Epic Games v. Apple'' trial. Microsoft suggested in October 2020 that to work around Apple's restriction, it may bring xCloud to iOS as a browser-based
web application
A web application (or web app) is application software that is created with web technologies and runs via a web browser. Web applications emerged during the late 1990s and allowed for the server to dynamically build a response to the request, ...
, which would not have its content restricted by the App Store limitations. The company later announced that it will use this approach to bring a browser-based version of the cloud gaming service to both personal computers and to iOS devices to be released sometime by the second quarter of 2021.
An invite-only beta test of the browser version started on April 20, 2021.
The full version for all Xbox Game Pass subscribers was released on June 28, 2021.
Xbox consoles
Microsoft also announced plans to bring cloud gaming to the
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
and
Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...
consoles later in 2021, which would also allow Xbox One users to play games that are only able to run on the Series X/S consoles. The feature was made available on November 17, 2021.
Other devices
Alongside the iOS browser-based version, browser-based Xbox Cloud Gaming through supported browsers in
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was Software release cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 2 ...
computers was added for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on June 28, 2021.
Invite-only beta testing launched alongside the iOS beta test on April 20, 2021.
Spencer has also stated that Microsoft is working to bring the service to
smart TV
A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV or, rarely, CoTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features that allow users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart T ...
s and
streaming stick
A dongle is a small piece of computer hardware that connects to a Computer port (hardware), port on another device to provide it with additional functionality, or enable a pass-through to such a device that adds functionality.
In computing, the ...
s, though a challenge here is assuring minimal latency between the television and the controller.
Microsoft confirmed in May 2022 that a streaming device was in development under the codename ''Keystone''. However, by November 2022, Spencer stated that they had ceased development of this device, as it was too costly compared to the Xbox Series S, and surpassed the $99-$129 price range they had envisioned.
In July 2022, Xbox Cloud Gaming was launched on select
Samsung
Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
Smart TVs and Smart Monitors via the Xbox app, with support for Bluetooth controllers. Microsoft said that other smart TV brands were being evaluated for the Xbox app for smart TVs. The service was also added to
Meta Quest VR headsets in December 2023 via a beta version of the Xbox Cloud Gaming app. In June 2024, it was announced that Microsoft had partnered with Amazon to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Fire TV devices through the Xbox TV app.
See also
*
Azure Virtual Desktop
*
EA Play
*
Windows 365
*
Xbox SmartGlass
*
Off-TV Play
*
Remote Play
*
GeForce Now
GeForce Now (stylized as GeForce NOW) is the brand used by Nvidia for its cloud gaming service. The Nvidia Shield version of GeForce Now, formerly known as Nvidia Grid, launched in beta in 2013, with Nvidia officially unveiling its name on Septe ...
*
PlayStation Now
*
Amazon Luna
Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming platform developed and operated by Amazon. The platform has integration with Twitch and is available on Windows, Mac, Amazon Fire TV, iOS (as a progressive web app) as well as Android. Games and channels from b ...
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Video games
2019 establishments in the United States
2019 in video gaming
Cloud gaming services
Microsoft cloud services
Xbox