Xbox Cloud Gaming is launching in limited beta on Chrome and Edge browsers for Windows 10 PCs and the Safari browser for Apple mobile phones & tablets starting Tuesday, April 20
At the moment, access is by invite only while they squash any bugs and get feedback on functionality and stability, but it shouldn’t be long until it rolls out to all users.
Over 100 games are available to play from the Game Pass catalogue, with a compatible Bluetooth or USB-connected required to play the full selection, or you can play over 50 games with touch controls.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft to request access to the Beta so we can let you know what the latency and resolution are like on a bigger PC screen. Much like the mobile version, the quality of your experience is heavily dependant on the quality of your connection, but with most PC players having the option of using ethernet, it’s likely to be far better than regular 4G/5G or even WiFi connections.
That being said, streaming is limited to just 720p on Android devices, and early rumours suggest it will be the same for PC. It’s not the end of the world, but if you’re playing on a high resolution 27″+ monitor it could end up looking disappointing. Microsoft are updating their servers to Xbox Series X consoles (or equivalent) over the coming years, so hopefully we’ll see that resolution improved over time.
It has not yet been confirmed if Xbox Cloud Gaming will work as a replacement for console streaming within the Windows 10 Xbox app, which is not supported on the Xbox Series X|S consoles. It’s a feature I used frequently for capturing gameplay and screenshots, as well as gaming when the TV was in use by the family, so it would be excellent if this turns out to be a viable alternative.
Unlike the original xCloud beta, there is nowhere to register your interest in the service (that we’ve seen, anyway), so if you want to try out the new service, you’ll have to play the waiting game.
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