Xbox had a big year, with the combined launch of Xbox Series X|S and xCloud streaming. With 2020 coming to a close, the company has outlined some of its plans for the coming year, including that same streaming tech coming to more devices.
In a post on the Xbox blog, Microsoft says that its cloud gaming will expand to windows PCs and iOS devices. It states that the iOS functionality is coming through a mobile browser. We had previously heard reports that Microsoft would introduce cloud streaming on iOS devices this way, as Apple’s restrictions make it difficult to create a dedicated streaming app.
The blog also mentions that the cloud gaming program will expand to more markets in 2021, including Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico.
Game streaming is currently available only through an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which also grants you access to the Game Pass libraries on PC and Xbox consoles, and bundles in the Xbox Live Gold subscription. The cloud streaming library mostly overlaps with the regular Game Pass library, albeit with the added bonus of being able to play your games anywhere.
Microsoft’s cloud streaming offering is integrated into its existing ecosystem, making it a very different value offering than its chief competitors, Google Stadia and Amazon Luna. Stadia offers a Stadia Pro subscription with a few free games per month, and sells games a la carte. Luna takes a different approach, offering subscriptions to various game bundles.
