Microsoft announces Project xCloud, a game streaming service
While Google has revealed their own game streaming project, currently in a testing phase, Microsoft has decided to show off their alternative as well. Officially announced as Project xCloud, Microsoft promises that this is the next step in gaming, allowing for players to have access to their Xbox One games, anywhere and anytime. Private trials are soon to be underway, with a public trial to occur in 2019, which will showcase how well Microsoft's Azure cloud platform handles high quality game streaming. In the video above, lead developers at Microsoft note that preserving graphical quality, as well as having low latency are highly important to streaming video games, and that their service will be prepared to tackle such issues with ease. Microsoft will have a library of its own games that will be able to be streamed, while making it simple for third party developers to add their games to the repertoire as well, "with no extra work on their part". 5G network support is planned, for the areas that the technology is rolling out in. xCloud will exist as a service to allow console and PC gamers to take their games with them, and will also open a door for a wider audience of more casual gamers to play Xbox titles.
Cloud game-streaming is a multi-faceted, complex challenge. Unlike other forms of digital entertainment, games are interactive experiences that dynamically change based on player input. Delivering a high-quality experience across a variety of devices must account for different obstacles, such as low-latency video streamed remotely, and support a large, multi-user network. In addition to solving latency, other important considerations are supporting the graphical fidelity and framerates that preserve the artist’s original intentions, and the type of input a player has available.
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