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Xbox Cloud Gaming beta coming to Apple devices and Windows 10 PCs

Microsoft is bringing its Cloud Gaming service to Apple devices and Windows 10 with a new beta for Game Pass members.

April 19, 2021 8:35 AM

Microsoft’s Cloud Gaming service offers a new way for players to enjoy their favorite titles, allowing them to play some of the biggest games from their mobile devices. Originally only available on Android devices, Microsoft has revealed that it will begin rolling out the Cloud Gaming service to Apple devices and Windows PCs in a limited beta for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

Microsoft shared details about Cloud Gaming coming to new platforms in a post to Xbox Wire. Starting on April 20, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will receive invitations to be in the early rounds of testing for Cloud Gaming on Apple phones, tablets, and Windows 10 PCs. Players in the beta will be given access to a library of over 100 Game Pass titles via web browser.

Players will be able to connect a controller via bluetooth, or use touch controls for the more than 50 games that support it. During the early days of Cloud Gaming on these additional platforms, Microsoft will primarily be “focusing on fine-tuning features and creating a consistent experience across platforms, while making sure games are running their best.”

While invites begin going out tomorrow, they will only be sent to a select handful of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. Microsoft will then continue to issue invites over the coming weeks to subscribers within the 22 supported countries. For more news on Microsoft’s Cloud Gaming service and Xbox Game Pass offerings, we’ve got you covered right here on Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

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April 19, 2021 8:35 AM

Donovan Erskine posted a new article, Xbox Cloud Gaming beta coming to Apple devices and Windows 10 PCs
- Masem
  
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  April 19, 2021 7:13 AM
  
  xCloud streaming via browser for PC and iOS will start beta testing tomorrow (invite only)
  
  https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/19/22391561/microsoft-xcloud-ios-pc-xbox-game-streaming-beta-features
  - Milleh
    
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    April 19, 2021 9:57 AM
    
    I hope they improve it, but I'm assuming it will still be garbage performance for where I live :( it's capped at like 20mbps up and down, which is ridiculous, I must be far from their servers
    
    My internet is capped at 600mbps up and down.
  - sergeon
    
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    April 19, 2021 10:01 AM
    
    Does xCloud still use previous gen consoles for streaming? I remember when I played around with it last time, some of the loading times were glacially slow and the graphics were meh.
    - Masem
      
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      April 19, 2021 10:06 AM
      
      It probably still has a sizable chunk of Xbox One blades , but I know MS said they were going to upgrade to Xbox Series X/S blades in the future.
- shirif
  
   reply
  April 19, 2021 7:20 AM
  
  Xcloud beta invited coming to iOS and PC this week
  
  https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/4/19/22391561/microsoft-xcloud-ios-pc-xbox-game-streaming-beta-features
- [deleted] 92559685
  
   reply
  April 19, 2021 8:37 AM
  
  [deleted]
- rosewood
  
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  April 19, 2021 8:58 AM
  
  You had my curiosity ... but now you have my attention
- mr.sleepy
  
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  April 19, 2021 9:09 AM
  
  is this kind of like Stadia? are there any good gamepads that connect to Ipad pro?
  - daggot
    
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    April 19, 2021 9:19 AM
    
    The Xbox controllers won't connect as a bluetooth device? Or even wired?
    - sevogajre
      
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      April 19, 2021 9:39 AM
      
      The definitely do. I was checking out Genshin Impact with one after they updated to use be able to use gamepads.
  - johnhead
    
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    April 19, 2021 9:46 AM
    
    yes, it's like Stadia. Only it works well and anything in your game library that you own and is on the cloud platform and a lot of Game Pass is on there - only console games at this time. You can't stream PC games.
    
    It works really really well
    - Masem
      
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      April 19, 2021 10:03 AM
      
      "anything in your game library that you own" Not quite.
      
      There's two separate things that are coming: One is local streaming from Xbox to PC or other device, and on the Xbox from PC. That you can play any game you own on the Xbox or the PC to the target device on the streaming end. But that's not what is here.
      
      xCloud streaming is a specific set of games that are currently on Xbox Game Pass that have Android streaming support (about 100 at this point). When this web app comes out, then iOS and PC users with Xbox Game Pass can also get streaming access to those apps. You don't need to buy any of those games, but if you buy the game (say for the Xbox), and the game is removed later from XGP, you cannot stream it via xCloud, but you can still be able to play it on the Xbox and potentially locally stream that to your PC for example.
      - johnhead
        
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        April 19, 2021 10:14 AM
        
        you are right, I was mixing things up there