Microsoft has confirmed Xbox cloud gaming will be available on Windows PCs and on the iPhone and iPad, via a range of popular web browsers, from this week
Initially, the long awaited ‘xCloud’ will be available in beta via invite to existing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members.
Once gamers receive an invite they’ll be able to log on to xbox.com/play on the Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Safari web browsers. There they’ll find over 100 games to close from. If you have an invite, you can get in on the action and sign in immediately.
Gamers will need a compatible USB or Bluetooth controller to play the full range, but 50 of those games will also be compatible with touch controls out of the gate. Microsoft recommends at least a 10Mbps with 5Ghz Wi-Fi connection for the best experience.
Microsoft is promising a “simplified, universal landing page presents a great opportunity to make cloud gaming approachable to more players in more places over time.” The gaming giant is using the rollout as a test, but says it’ll learn fast and bring support to more devices.
“Our plan is to iterate quickly and open up to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in the coming months so more people have the opportunity to play Xbox in all-new ways,” the company says in an Xbox Wire post.
Related: Best Xbox Series X games
The launch comes after cloud gaming came to Android phone owners via the Xbox app, rather than through the web browsers. Microsoft was forced to adopt a different tactic in order to launch on Apple devices due to App Store guidelines that would have required the Xbox team to submit every game for review, rather than as a bundled streaming service.
Going through web browsers is a workaround many companies have used before, but it remains to be seen whether it’ll be an effective tactic for playing high-end Xbox games.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
