Microsoft has announced that its cloud-based gaming service, Xbox Cloud Gaming, will be expanding to the PC and iOS platforms in Spring 2021. The service will be offered as a part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for Windows PCs via the Xbox app and web browsers while iOS only gets access via web browsers. Currently, the service is available on Android devices which costs $15 per month allowing you to stream Xbox and PC games from the cloud on your smartphone or tablet.
“By adding over a billion devices as a path to playing in the Xbox ecosystem, we envision a seamless experience for all types of players; whether it’s playing Minecraft Dungeons with your Xbox friends using touch controls on an iPhone, or jumping into a Destiny 2: Beyond Light strike on a Surface Pro when you have a break between meetings,” said Jerret West, CVP, Microsoft Gaming in a blog post on the topic of Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Microsoft also announced that the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate would be introduced to Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico. During the launch of the service for Android back in September, the company had announced a list of 22 countries where Xbox Cloud Gaming would be available. With the addition of these four regions, this is how the new list stands:
- Austria
- Australia
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Korea
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- United States
In August, Apple had blocked Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service (previously known as xCloud) along with Google’s Stadia app as they were in violation of the iOS guidelines. In a statement, Apple had said that cloud streaming services like xCloud in a way allows Microsoft to launch games on iOS bypassing the normal checks that Apple performs for other apps. With the recent announcement, it seems that Microsoft has found a new way to offer its service through web browsers. Of course, we are yet to see how well it would perform compared to the performance of a dedicated app.
Xbox Series S Review: A compact console for the budget conscious
Microsoft also shared, that the Xbox Game Pass monthly engagement has doubled since last year as well as some numbers around its new gaming consoles, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S. About 40% of customers joining the Xbox for the first time were playing on the Xbox Series S which suggests that the strategy of offering a low-cost console worked in favor of the company. There were also over 1.6 million seamless upgrades delivered to the Series X and Series S owners with Smart Delivery and record sales of the two consoles around the globe with markets like the UK, France, and Germany running out of stocks within hours.