Microsoft xCloud Beta for iPhone and iPad to Launch This Week [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Microsoft has today announced that it will launch its browser-based Xbox Cloud Gaming service in beta to selected testers on iPhone and iPad tomorrow.

Starting tomorrow, Microsoft will begin sending out invites to selected Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to test the Xbox Cloud Gaming limited beta for iPhone, iPad, and Windows 10 PCs using a web browser. Invites will be issued on a continuous basis to players in all 22 supported countries.

The new in-browser cloud gaming platform will be available at xbox.com/play, and will work in Safari, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge. Microsoft plans to "iterate quickly" on the beta, and open up to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in the coming months. Games will be playable via a controller or touch controls for more than 50 games at first.

This will be the first time that Xbox Game Streaming has been available on iPhone and iPad since the service launched exclusively on Android devices last year. Last year, plans to bring an Xbox game streaming app to iOS stalled due to Apple's App Store rules, which forbids apps from streaming multiple games from the cloud via a single app. This is because Apple believes that its inability to review each game in the service's library is a potential security risk. Game Pass streaming would only be viable if each game was available as its own app under Apple's rules.

Microsoft then suggested that it would use a browser instead of an app to avoid Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules while still providing the same service. Microsoft says that creating a browser-accessible service has a number of advantages in making cloud gaming more accessible, as well as streamlining development into a singular, universal platform.

Microsoft's games streaming service is bundled as part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for $14.99 per month, with more than 100 games available.

Update: Beta testers invited to the program have confirmed to MacRumors, despite it not being mentioned in Microsoft's press release, that the Xbox Cloud Gaming beta also works on macOS.

Article Link: Microsoft xCloud Beta for iPhone and iPad to Launch This Week [Updated]

 

[macsplusmacs]

If it streams and plays well. Kudos.

the Nvidia solution was not so good on my mac.

Shadow.tech is 100% so good though! and plays my steam games. I can't get over how good shadow.tech is. long wait to get in right now though.

 

[Jxdawg]

The revolution has begun!

 

[Maconplasma]

"Microsoft then suggested that it would use a browser instead of an app to avoid Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules while still providing the same service."

Uh, the way they short-change Mac users with MS 365 I'm certain that the Windows customers will have a far better experience with a dedicated app. Sorry Microsoft, I'm not buying your BS reason for no iOS dedicated app.

 

[jlocker]

I got the Xbox series X at launch at Christmas, I got this as my backup gaming system as Bootcamp and Windows 10 fades away on the Mac. I think it is great that they now have xCloud on the IOS. So At least I can play games on iPad, I don't want another gaming system like the Nintendo switch to play games remotely so this is kind the best of all worlds.

The xbox series X is a fantastic gaming console, with tons of great games new and old and now with xcloud XCloud it has gotten even better.

 

[Think|Different]

Let’s goooooooo!

 

[Thunderstrike76]

This is a direction I would like Apple to go in. I used to be a big gamer when I was younger. Over the years I played less and less. I turn my PS4 on maybe a few times a year. But I would love to see Apple make a competitor to this, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna. Data suggest customers don’t play AAA games from the app store. But if they want to make the Apple TV a powerhouse I’d love to see a separate Apple Arcade+ service for playing AAA games like call of duty and battlefield. I just want the Apple TV to be my do it all machine. The cost of porting games and the time it takes to do it isn’t much for Apple to pay. Part of me wants to see Apple have a big partnership with a major game studio to produce AAA games and also make TV shows based off of the games but there may not be enough benefit for Apple.

 

[anthogag]

Apple TV does not have a browser. They could make a browser app for Apple TV

 

[WilburMercer]

If I understand correctly, this service won't work on macOS?

 

[DeepIn2U]

The revolution has begun!

It was begun, and very wrongfully before, this will be watched heavily by global anti-trust and winers all over.

Let's see how that Epic Games Fortnight case evolves after this.

 

[Okasian]

Sorry Microsoft, I'm not buying your BS reason.

I believe the reasons are more based on App Store limitations, like having to have every single game as a standalone separate icon on the springboard rather than a single Xbox app. (Imagine how messy that would be if you have a huge game library.)

These App Store restrictions make it such that a browser based experience is the only ‘good’ option for iOS users.

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

If it works for you, great, but if you live in a rural area, good luck getting the internet bandwidth you need to play the AAA titles.

StarLink will definitely help remote areas but satellite signals can be blocked by bad weather. ☹️

 

[JCCL]

Good for Microsoft for not giving up on Apple users despite Apple’s own stupid rules. Looking forward to trying this out.

 

[mrat93]

As an Apple diehard, I was scared that Apple had allowed something spooky like game streaming into the App Store without having individual listings for games ?

Happy that this is browser-based so I can feel safe in my walled garden.

 

[gnipgnop]

If I understand correctly, this service won't work on macOS?

No macOS and no tvOS. Microsoft wants the bigger screen gaming to require Windows.

 

[Madmic23]

I tried the Google Stadia Web App on my iPad. It worked surprisingly well. I'm using gigabit fiber optic internet so latency and download speeds aren't a concern here.

Out of all of the cloud gaming options that are coming out, I think Microsoft might have the best chance just due to the XBox brand.

 

[Okasian]

No macOS and no tvOS. Microsoft wants the bigger screen gaming to require Windows or Xbox.

Highly likely that it won't be coming to tvOS.

Surely you can on macOS with a modern browser that supports video streaming?

 

[gnipgnop]

I believe the reasons are more based on App Store limitations, like having to have every single game as a standalone separate icon on the springboard rather than a single Xbox app. (Imagine how messy that would be if you have a huge game library.)

It's based on Microsoft knowing that most AAA game customers prefer to play the games on bigger screens + Microsoft wanting those bigger screens to be using Windows and/or MS hardware.

 

[gnipgnop]

Surely you can on macOS with a modern browser that supports video streaming?

Technically? Sure. But MS sees a business benefit from limiting bigger screen access to Windows, so they aren't including macOS support.

 

[adbe]

No macOS and no tvOS. Microsoft wants the bigger screen gaming to require Windows.

That's almost certainly wrong. MS by all accounts, including theirs, see GamePass as the future, and they'll happily sell a subscription to anyone that wants one.

tvOS isn't supported because as has been stated already, there is no webkit, so there is no way MS can support it.
macOS we'll have to see. I wouldn't bet this is high on Microsoft's todo list though simply because the market is so much smaller, but if the demand is there, they've already done the hard work.

 

[thejoshuabradshaw]

This is great. I cannot wait to play on my iPad. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it suits me fine with my limited attention span and time to play.

 

[Zaren]

If it streams and plays well. Kudos.

the Nvidia solution was not so good on my mac.

Shadow.tech is 100% so good though! and plays my steam games. I can't get over how good shadow.tech is. long wait to get in right now though.

That shadow.tech is interesting. I wish they had a trial so I could see how well it works. I can see the value in renting an entire high-endish Winders computer for $12 a month.

 

[gnipgnop]

That's almost certainly wrong. MS by all accounts, including theirs, see GamePass as the future, and they'll happily sell a subscription to anyone that wants one.

tvOS isn't supported because as has been stated already, there is no webkit, so there is no way MS can support it.
macOS we'll have to see. I wouldn't bet this is high on Microsoft's todo list though simply because the market is so much smaller, but if the demand is there, they've already done the hard work.

Those two paragraphs contradict each other.

 

[osufan88]

"Microsoft then suggested that it would use a browser instead of an app to avoid Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules while still providing the same service."

Uh, the way they short-change Mac users with MS 365 I'm certain that the Windows customers will have a far better experience with a dedicated app. Sorry Microsoft, I'm not buying your BS reason for no Mac dedicated app.

The reason they don't have an app is because Apple won't let them. It's complete BS too, as it's no different from Netflix, Hulu, or any of the other streaming site. Apple doesn't get to curate those on an individual title basis.

The reason Apple is hypocritical here is that Gamepass competes with what they're trying to do with arcade.

I love apple, but this is one thing I simply cannot support them on. At least Xbox/Gamepass users won't have to suffer much longer.

 

[Sasparilla]

I believe this service still uses racks of very old Xbox One S's (more efficient but no faster that the original Xbox One from 7? years ago) as the streaming source. No word on when they'll go to the newer xbox's. Had Microsoft just done rolled this out as an expansion of its existing streaming app from your local xbox (i.e. moving the source from your local xbox to the xbox in the cloud), it would have been fine, but they rebranded the whole thing, made a big deal about it and Apple stopped it (which Apple should not have done).

Tried a few of these services out, just to do it, found the nVidia one to be a bit cludgy (launching different stores to launch different games & and 1080p max with no word of updating that) and most of my steam library wasn't available. Google Stadia actually was actually wonderful (assuming you have some games you like there, there's quite a few now) can do 4k, although I did 1440p - definitely got the feeling trying that out that "this is how it should be".