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Xbox Game Pass will bring xCloud streaming to the web next year to catch up w/ Stadia

The beauty of cloud gaming is the ability to play games on quite literally any device, but Microsoft’s xCloud offering hasn’t fulfilled the promise just yet. That’s going to change soon, though, as Microsoft is planning to add a web app for Xbox Game Pass, which uses the company’s xCloud streaming tech.

In a blog post today, Microsoft announced that xCloud streaming for Xbox Game Pass titles would arrive on Windows, iOS, and a new web app next year. Specifically, the company gave a target launch date of Spring 2021. When this arrives, it will mark the first expansion of Microsoft’s xCloud streaming tech.

In Spring 2021, we will take the next step in our journey to reach more players around the world by making cloud gaming as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate available on Windows PCs through the Xbox app and browser, and iOS devices through mobile web browser. By adding over a billion devices as a path to playing in the Xbox ecosystem, we envision a seamless experience for all types of players; whether it’s playing Minecraft Dungeons with your Xbox friends using touch controls on an iPhone, or jumping into a Destiny 2: Beyond Light strike on a Surface Pro when you have a break between meetings.

It’s worth noting, though, that both Google Stadia and Amazon Luna have supported browser streaming since launch. Nvidia’s GeForce Now is also adding that functionality in “early” 2021. In Google’s case, the web app is one of the best places to play Stadia and one of the most attractive parts of the platform. It’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft’s web app stacks up in comparison. Also of note, Microsoft won’t be delivering iOS support until this new browser app is made available next Spring, while Google is set to debut the functionality any day now. Luna and GeForce Now already offer iOS support.

In the meantime, xCloud streaming is still limited to only Android devices.

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.


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