If Xbox Game Pass Ultimate wasn't enough of a deal for you already, Microsoft is adding more to its service later this year. In September, Project xCloud game streaming will be incorporated into Game Pass Ultimate, all for no extra charge. Microsoft's game streaming will let you access your Game Pass library through mobile devices and tablets, allowing you to stream your games anywhere. This could also point towards the launch date of Project xCloud, which is currently in an invite-only beta preview form.

You will get more from your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. Finally, 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.

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[Rahkeesh]

The main snafu I hit with PC gamespass is that so much of the library is Unified Windows Platform, which is mostly incompatible with modding, steam overlay and streaming, even moving save files to other versions of the game on other software distros can be a problem. If you're fine with treating your gamepass games like they are an unmodifiable console then it is a good value, but I don't see enough warnings about these limitations that PC gamers don't normally have to worry about.

 

[StrayGuitarist]

That's incredibly frightening. Guess I'll have to stay away from Gamepass then. Not like that's gonna require me doing anything different..

 

[evertonstz]

That's incredibly frightening. Guess I'll have to stay away from Gamepass then. Not like that's gonna require me doing anything different..

Lol, how hyperbolic.

 

[StrayGuitarist]

Lol, how hyperbolic.

Prolly. I just despise the concept of game streaming.

 

[the_randomizer]

Still don't trust cloud gaming.

 

[Rahkeesh]

Prolly. I just despise the concept of game streaming.

To be clear, what I talked about was using gamepass PC to install games locally onto your PC. I typically would not expect being able to install mods to a cloud service.

That said far as I know, xCloud is currently running on One S server blades, so it shouldn't be playing PC stuff at all. Though "play anywhere" + "cloud save" would probably let you move the same save between cloud play on a One S blade and a local PC.

 

[Goku1992A]

Still don't trust cloud gaming.

Remember Blockbuster and Toys R US? Those things are obsolete I beleive that Sony/Microsoft are testing the waters with game subsriptions I think 20 years from now most games are going to be via subscription or on the cloud.

Lets be honest here in this generation of gaming the disk is useless anyway since they dump the entire game on the HD for you to play it.

 

[StrayGuitarist]

To be clear, what I talked about was using gamepass PC to install games locally onto your PC. I typically would not expect being able to install mods to a cloud service.

That said far as I know, xCloud is currently running on One S server blades, so it shouldn't be playing PC stuff at all. Though "play anywhere" + "cloud save" would probably let you move the same save between cloud play on a One S blade and a local PC.

... Did you quote the wrong post on accident?

 

[Nostalgia]

It's actually much more expensive in the US, MS charges $15 a month here which equates to $180 a year.

Though it's still a great value IMO. MS's PC game pass is literally the only gaming "subscription" thing I subscribe to (not counting PS+ which I basically get for free as birthday presents) because $5 a month for a bunch of PC games, including most first party titles at or around launch, is an excellent deal.

As to Xcloud, I won't bother using it because game streaming is bad, but hey adding it into Ultimate Game Pass for no additional cost is nice. I'd like to hope they'll keep it that way, but I suspect if the demand for it grows they'll probably end up bumping the price another $5 or $10 a month for it.

How is streaming a XBox game to my iphone at school bad? explain

 

[matpower]

Microsoft has been killing it recently, and as much as I dislike non-personal streaming, this is some killer value and arguably might tip some people into getting a Xbox Series X instead of a PS5. If they keep it up, maybe we'll see some real competition in this new generation.

Lets be honest here in this generation of gaming the disk is useless anyway since they dump the entire game on the HD for you to play it.

You are ignoring digital downloads where you do own the files, and run it in your own hardware.

How is streaming a XBox game to my iphone at school bad? explain

The possibility it might kill local gaming setups, any possible streaming-only titles, being locked to a certain vendor, not being able to use your previous library (although the game pass mitigates it, unlike Stadia). Unlike movies, games can't be just recorded, as they rely on user input to be useful.
If they suddenly go "streaming is the future" and stop putting standalone releases, it would kill longevity (no way to dump files), modding (no access to files) and if the service dies or the game gets delisted, you are shit outta luck.

Disclaimer: I am in favor of streaming, as long as the user is in control. Steam Link, Moonlight, PS4 Remote Play and others fill this niche pretty well and hopefully won't be superseded by remote, off-site services.

 

[GuyInDogSuit]

I've tried Stadia and PS Now, both were grainy and low visual fidelity. If they somehow manage to make streaming games look as good as native with comparable input latency then I can see this working out, otherwise it will never be good enough for me to take this as a serious option.

I entirely agree with that. At least PSN now offers the option to download some games, but not sure if any others do the same. Haven't tried any out. It IS a nice addition, though, for those who are interested in a game but don't have access to a demo. It's easier to stream a quick play session than to download the entire game only to find that you don't enjoy it. Honestly hope that other game streaming providers consider this sort of move as well. Looking at you, Sony. Not willing to spend $20 a month on both PSN and PS Now. Seriously. at least bundle them at a discount, maybe?

Microsoft has been killing it recently, and as much as I dislike non-personal streaming, this is some killer value and arguably might tip some people into getting a Xbox Series X instead of a PS5. If they keep it up, maybe we'll see some real competition in this new generation.


You are ignoring digital downloads where you do own the files, and run it in your own hardware.

The possibility it might kill local gaming setups, any possible streaming-only titles, being locked to a certain vendor, not being able to use your previous library (although the game pass mitigates it, unlike Stadia). Unlike movies, games can't be just recorded, as they rely on user input to be useful.
If they suddenly go "streaming is the future" and stop putting standalone releases, it would kill longevity (no way to dump files), modding (no access to files) and if the service dies or the game gets delisted, you are shit outta luck.

Disclaimer: I am in favor of streaming, as long as the user is in control. Steam Link, Moonlight, PS4 Remote Play and others fill this niche pretty well and hopefully won't be superseded by remote, off-site services.

This. So much this.

Streaming is a nice option, but I am not a big fan of it, especially when you have to purchase the rights to play the game in the first place and could potentially lose that right at any time (*cough* Stadia *cough*), At least with some providers, you DO own the game and can install it locally (NVIDIA's service gives you a Steam key as well as streaming rights on their GeForce Now platform). And in the case of Stadia, it's not a promising future.

Also, love your avatar, Mat. That was an amazing game. Wish it got more love.

 

[yoyoyo69]

I honestly thought they'd have a separate subscription, even though I think it's a cad idea to face both running concurrently.

They're already a decent amount ahead of the competition, this will put them so far ahead, I'm worried they may have a monopoly.

The 2 things we need is fir Microsoft to develop good games. The other is for atleast one competitor (but much more preferably several), offer a service which can atleast compete.

 

[Red_Soldat]

I've tried Stadia and PS Now, both were grainy and low visual fidelity. If they somehow manage to make streaming games look as good as native with comparable input latency then I can see this working out, otherwise it will never be good enough for me to take this as a serious option.

The nice thing about this is that you don't have to pay for a separate subscription (PS Now) and it's not forcing you to go on another platform entirely (Stadia), it's all just in the mix.
XCloud will most probably be just a nice bonus service for those that are already paying for GamePass.

Right now I can really see the appeal of having a unified Microsoft system, with a PC to game on a desk, an Xbox to game on the couch or with friends and XCloud when out and about.

 

[cherryduck]

The nice thing about this is that you don't have to pay for a separate subscription (PS Now) and it's not forcing you to go on another platform entirely (Stadia), it's all just in the mix.
XCloud will most probably be just a nice bonus service for those that are already paying for GamePass.

Right now I can really see the appeal of having a unified Microsoft system, with a PC to game on a desk, an Xbox to game on the couch or with friends and XCloud when out and about.

It definitely sounds like a good idea, I'm just interested to see how well it's executed or if the same issues with existing game streaming services persist.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

How is streaming a XBox game to my iphone at school bad? explain

matpower hit on basically all the points. Game streaming is fine...so long as you're streaming games you actually own. I have no problems with services like PS Remote Play, Nvidia Game Streaming, or Steam remote play, they're all fine so long as you have the network speeds to use them. Shadow's offering is probably the absolute best for game streaming, since they basically just give you a "gaming PC" VM that you just install all your own games to to stream from, which is the best solution to the usual game streaming problems.

But services like Xcloud or PS Now or Stadia are not fine, as you're completely at the whims of the company that runs them. GeForce Now, for example, has been in the news frequently for having a mass amount of games being de-listed from the service (even if this was just because Nvidia never bothered to get permission). If you were invested in playing XYZ game, there's absolutely 0 guarantee that ABC company couldn't go and slap the controller out of your hand and remove the game for whatever reason. If you're fine with having no control over your game library, cool, but I am not, and I hope cloud gaming either dies outright, or steers more towards the way of Shadow and lets you play your own games as opposed to games they pick and choose.

 

[evertonstz]

But services like Xcloud or PS Now or Stadia are not fine, as you're completely at the whims of the company that runs them.

Nahh, they're fine. As everything in life freedom is freedom. The corporations have their freedom to release these services and the customers have the freedom to use it or not, that's it. These corporations are in the market to money, if streaming is the way they think they'll get their money, so be it.

I hate EA to the guts and don't buy their games, doesn't mean people paying for their games are wrong or that their business model "is not fine". It clearly is, since people still buy their games. The same way some people want to play FIFA, others want to stream games to their phones or whatever, that's it, no need to gatekeep gaming. "I don't like streaming and because of that I think it should die so anyone else can use it" is cringy as hell, makes you look like a 10 yo throwing a tantrum.

 

[Pickle_Rick]

I don't know if I should like this or consider it a potential end to us even being able to at least play games on an internal storage device. I guess we'll have to see if they actually figure this out unlike with Stadia.

Considering xCloud is powered by rack mounted Xbox One S server blades I wouldn't worry about it.