Microsoft and Phil Spencer have made a huge announcement today regarding both Xbox Game Pass, and the streaming service Project xCloud. From September the two services will merge together and be available at no extra cost for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members. This means that players will be able to play all supported Xbox Game Pass titles on phones and tablets through streaming in places where Project xCloud is available. This will include Halo Infinite allowing players to jump in to the campaign or multiplayer wherever they are. In a blog post, Phil Spencer wrote:
…today we’re announcing that this September, in supported countries, we’re bringing Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud together at no additional cost for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members. With cloud gaming in Game Pass Ultimate, you will be able to play over 100 Xbox Game Pass titles on your phone or tablet. And because Xbox Live connects across devices, you can play along with the nearly 100 million Xbox Live players around the world. So when Halo Infinite launches, you and your friends can play together and immerse yourselves in the Halo universe as Master Chief—anywhere you go and across devices. Cloud gaming in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate means your games are no longer locked to the living room. You can connect more than ever with friends and family through gaming.
And just like you do with your movie and music streaming services, when cloud gaming launches into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can continue your game wherever you left off on any of your devices.”
Project xCloud is currently available in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, UK and the US. As Microsoft gears up for the launch of the Xbox Series X it will likely explore more regions to launch the service in.
Source: Microsoft
JustTaylorNow
Can you please explain this to me. Is it like remote play?
Do I need an Xbox to play the games or I can just sub for game pass and play through the cloud on my phone etc
MrYd
It’s like PS Now. Download the games on an XBox, or stream them on phones if you haven’t got an XBox. Or fancy playing the latest games on a tiny screen because you hate your eyes or something.
Ok, PS Now only lets you stream to a PC or a PS4 and not a phone. But the idea is the same.
JustTaylorNow
I still don’t get it. Isn’t remote play pretty much xcloud but for free?
Aran Suddi
You won’t need to own an Xbox. Just a subscription to Game Pass Ultimate and the xCloud app.
JustTaylorNow
Thanks Aran, that’s what I wanted to know mainly
MrYd
So you can download or stream a whole bunch of games for one monthly fee? If only Sony would do something like that ;)
They’re also trying to justify that ridiculous “no Series X exclusives” thing as “you won’t be forced into the next generation”. Almost as if they’ve given up and just want to stick with the current gen and streaming but need new hardware to keep 3rd party developers interested. Which suggests you shouldn’t expect the Series X to be surprisingly cheap.
Andrewww
I don’t think they’ve given up but are just not ready for next gen. They’ve not got any next gen games, so they resort to ‘upscaling’ this gen games to 60fps, etc., and try to make this bug a feature by boasting about it.
But a true next gen game like HZD2, etc. at 30fps will always be more impressive than a last gen game running in an improved mode. It’s a shame MS does not give gaming a higher priority.
Starman
What a cool announcement, good to see them merging the 2 services at no extra cost. I think this is more about keeping people with xbox than anything else.