The idea behind Project xCloud is to make it possible for people to play games on demand with anyone they want, on any device – regardless of whether it’s a PC, console, or smartphone. Redmond is currently testing Project xCloud and expects to launch public trials next year.
Microsoft on Monday formally announced Project xCloud, a new game-streaming service it first tipped at E3 in June.
The idea behind Project xCloud is to make it possible for people to play games on demand with anyone, on any device—regardless of whether it’s a PC, console, or smartphone.
“Today, the games you play are very much dictated by the device you are using,” Microsoft Gaming Cloud Corporate Vice President Kareem Choudhry explained in a Monday blog post . “Project xCloud’s state-of-the-art global game-streaming technology will offer you the freedom to play on the device you want without being locked to a particular device, empowering YOU, the gamers, to be at the center of your gaming experience.”
Project xCloud will offer PC and console gamers “new choices in when and where they play” and, perhaps more exciting, give mobile gamers “access to worlds, characters, and immersive stories they haven’t been able to experience before,” Choudhry added. The company promises a console-like experience on all devices.
Microsoft says Xbox One game developers will be able to bring their content to Project xCloud to make it available across devices “with no additional work.” The service will work on today’s 4G networks, and 5G networks as they roll out.
Redmond is currently testing Project xCloud and expects to launch public trials next year. The test experience runs on devices, including phones and tablets, connected to an Xbox Wireless Controller via Bluetooth. Microsoft is also developing a touch input overlay for those who want to play without a controller. The company’s developers and researchers are also working to “combat latency through advances in networking topology, and video encoding and decoding,” Choudhry added.
Microsoft’s announcement comes just days after Google launched public trials of its own game-streaming service, Project Stream, which will let you play PC games on Chrome.
