Xbox Game Cloud Download
Jannie Frankenberry
And there are more than a few reasons why you definitely should give Xbox Cloud Gaming a try, as it can be a worthwhile alternative to simply downloading games to your console or buying one of the best gaming PCs. For one, save data seamlessly carries between platforms, meaning that when you start playing via the cloud, you'll be able to pick up exactly where you left off.
Xbox Cloud Gaming is a cloud gaming service as part of Xbox offered by Microsoft Gaming.[5] Initially released in beta testing in November 2019, the service later launched for subscribers of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on September 15, 2020. Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming is provided to subscribers of Ultimate at no additional cost.[6] Xbox Cloud Gaming operates by linking the device to a remote server in the cloud.[7]
The ideas for the cloud service came within Microsoft around 2016, around the same time that Kareem Choudhry developed the Xbox 360 backwards compatibility for the Xbox One. As his team developed this solution, Choudhry also had the idea if they could provide these games without having need of a console, and got Spencer's go-ahead to start a small team to determine the feasibility of cloud gaming. The technology was deemed successful enough at around the time of Xbox Game Pass's introduction that Microsoft assembled a larger team to build up the cloud gaming platform.[8]
The Xbox Series X's backward compatibility allows xCloud to retain the existing library of Xbox games while adding new games from the Xbox Series X.[12] The Xbox Game Pass Library currently lists 382 cloud-enabled games.[30] The list includes Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Forza Horizon 5, The Outer Worlds, Yakuza Kiwami 2, and Microsoft Flight Simulator.[31][32] Microsoft has also announced plans to expand the list of cloud-enabled games to include select Xbox games that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members have purchased from the Microsoft Store.[33]
Microsoft introduced cloud play support for selected original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles using its backward compatibility program starting in March 2021 with 16 titles available. Players are able to use cloud-based saved games from the original release of these titles if they have used that service as part of Xbox Live Gold. Some of the games also support official touch controls when played on mobile devices.[35]
While Microsoft had planned to release xCloud for iOS devices, the company halted iOS testing in August 2020, asserting that policies on the Apple App Store limited what functionality they could provide for the service.[47] Apple clarified that cloud streaming services like xCloud allow Microsoft to release games onto the iOS platform that bypass the normal checks that Apple performs for other apps, and thus refused to allow the app on the platform.[48]
However, in September 2020, Apple altered its rules that allowed xCloud and other cloud gaming apps to work on iOS, with restrictions that each game must be offered as an individual download on the iOS store which the user must use before playing, though catalog apps as part of the service can list and link to these games.[49] Microsoft responded negatively to this change, stating that
Microsoft had considered the possibility of making each game its own application as to satisfy Apple's requirements, according to The Verge based on emails uncovered during the Epic Games v. Apple trial.[51] Microsoft suggested in October 2020 that to work around Apple's restriction, it may bring xCloud to iOS as a browser-based web application, which would not have its content restricted by the App Store limitations.[52] The company later announced that it will use this approach to bring a browser-based version of the cloud gaming service to both personal computers and to iOS devices to be released sometime by the second quarter of 2021.[53] An invite-only beta test of the browser version started on April 20, 2021.[54] The full version for all Xbox Game Pass subscribers was released on June 28, 2021.[55]
Microsoft also announced plans to bring cloud gaming to the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S consoles later in 2021, which would also allow Xbox One users to play games that are only able to run on the Series X/S consoles.[56][57] The feature was made available on November 17, 2021.[58]
One of Microsoft's biggest bets for the future of Xbox is Xbox Game Pass. The service provides all-you-can-eat access to a variety of games for a relatively low monthly fee. One big component of Xbox Game Pass is its cloud streaming platform, generally known by its codename Project xCloud. The full list of cloud streaming Xbox Game Pass titles grows every month, with many games coming with bespoke touch controls.
Xbox Game Pass cloud streaming is still technically in beta, and hasn't yet fully rolled out to all the major markets Xbox is involved in. As such, we'll continually update this review in the months and years ahead to reflect changes and improvements coming to the platform. Regardless, we thought we'd showcase the best of what Xbox Game Pass cloud streaming is today, and give a final verdict on how it stacks up to the competition, and its overall value.
Bottom line: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate's cloud gaming service is undoubtedly a market leader, providing the largest breadth of content, most intuitive platform, and biggest first-party lineup by a country mile. The only serious competitors in the space simply can't meet Microsoft on its content lineup, nor its cloud pervasiveness. Microsoft may be slightly behind some of its contemporaries on latency, but the gap is closing, making XCloud the service most likely to hit mainstream adoption.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is required to access the cloud gaming portion of the service. Game Pass Ultimate gives you Xbox Live Gold for multiplayer access on Xbox consoles, alongside a few hundred games to play natively on your Xbox console or capable Windows PC. The cloud gaming portion gives you access to dozens of games on an Android smart device, with a web version of the service currently available via the Xbox website to circumvent Apple's anti-consumer blocks on its anti-competitive iOS app store.
Xbox Game Pass's cloud platform is pioneering, and many years in the works. We have reports and documents dating all the way back to 2012, about 10 years ago, where Microsoft began exploring and ramping up its tech in this space. Since then, Microsoft has become something of a cloud powerhouse, hitting an astronomical market cap in a battle for service dominance with Amazon and others. For its Xbox customers, Microsoft is gradually rolling out the ability to take your console experience with you anywhere, on any device, at any time. Well, provided you have a consistent connection, that is.
Where competitors definitively do not have an edge is the library quality. Microsoft has invested a mountain of cash into its portfolio, buying various studios like Undead Labs, Compulsion, Obsidian, Playground Games, and publisher ZeniMax Media itself, responsible for Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and DOOM. Microsoft also intends to buy Activision Blizzard, which will boost Xbox Game Pass and cloud by a truly insane amount. Microsoft has made apparent its desire to include all of these games day one into Xbox Game Pass, which is the type of commitment Google Stadia, PlayStation Now, and others have simply failed to match. Microsoft has also partnered heavily with EA to bring many of its classics to the service, alongside various other major publishers. Many large AAA games are available in the service, on devices that aren't powerful enough to run them natively.
Some games are even cloud-aware, including the likes of Streets of Rage 4, Hades, and Minecraft Dungeons. Some of these games can be played entirely without an attached controller, with user interfaces designed and scaled to match your smartphone's touch screen. This is where xCloud can really shine in my view. If you're gaming on your phone, chances are you don't want to be heaving around an additional peripheral, which also needs to be charged up and most likely connected with Bluetooth. There is a range of great phone clips for Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming designed exactly for that purpose, but they're a bit clunky to use, as we'll discuss in the next section.
The Xbox ecosystem in general is already just far more cloud-aware and cloud-capable than some of the competing solutions out there. When I fire up Prey on my phone, my save files synchronize from the cloud, uploaded from my home Xbox. Right away, I'm back in my current save, and ready to get gaming. All of my friends are available to invite into games, and all of my Xbox achievements sync up to my profile. All of this just works as a natural process of being in the Xbox ecosystem, without needing an additional subscription to access cloud saves or multiplayer. It's all included in Xbox Game Pass, with cloud saves and achievements included for free as part of the Xbox ecosystem promise.
Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass cloud streaming platform has some incredible promise, and works well for the most part, but there is a range of technical hurdles that remain, potentially holding back mainstream adoption.
First of all, the experience of gaming on your phone, generally, isn't very pleasant. Some games like Minecraft Dungeons and Streets of Rage 4 do have custom touch controls designed specifically to be played on your smartphone. Many others simply do not. The default Xbox gamepad touch experience is not great unless it has been designed specifically for the game in question, like the previously mentioned titles. By default, it interferes with UI elements, gameplay, and beyond. Games like League of Legends Wild Rift, Diablo Immortal, and Pokemon Unite make heavy use of drags and swipes to supplement touch controls these days too, something I'm not sure the Xbox cloud APIs are as of yet capable of. We really need to start seeing games being designed for xCloud for it to really be viable as a touch companion for most games, and I think it could be years before we actually see that happening.
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