Later this week, Google is hosting its “future of gaming” event where the company will announce a revolutionary step in gaming. That revolution is likely to involve leveraging the cloud to deliver game content. However, ahead of that announcement, Microsoft wants to make it clear it has already detailed the future of gaming with Project xCloud.
Microsoft has published a live demonstration of Project xCloud, which is a cloud-based game streaming service. It is clear Microsoft is saying “Hey, we were here first” ahead of Google’s event.
Xbox Project xCloud is a cloud-based game streaming service Microsoft is currently developing. With this service, Microsoft will store all game performance and data in the cloud, allowing gamers to play without system or hardware limitations. This means gamers will be able to access Xbox games across platforms and on any device, even mobile.
Microsoft initially promised trials of Project xCloud will begin later in the year and we expect the company to go into detail at E3 2019 in June. That said, it will be interesting to see what Google’s roll out plans for its future of gaming solution is.
It could mean Microsoft is willing to speed up xCloud development as the company has issued the first public demo. During an Inside Xbox show yesterday, the company showed Forza Horizon 4 streaming through Azure datacenters onto an Android device. Earlier this year, we discussed some potential issues with xCloud and controllers, but Microsoft showed how an Xbox One gamepad connects to the smartphone through Bluetooth.
Consoles Go On
In an accompanying blog post, Kareem Choudhry, Microsoft gaming cloud chief wanted to make it clear consoles will not be replaced. Microsoft got burned by sensitive gamers through the launch of Xbox One and clearly does not want a similar situation following Project xCloud:
“We’re developing Project xCloud not as a replacement for game consoles, but as a way to provide the same choice and versatility that lovers of music and video enjoy today,” explains Choudhry. “We’re adding more ways to play Xbox games.”
