Project xCloud has been officially confirmed to be releasing in September out of its current preview. The cloud streaming service based on Microsoft's Azure platform will be included in the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription tier, but that's just the beginning. As Microsoft's Head of Gaming Phil Spencer told The Verge, the availability of Project xCloud will be expanded over time both in terms of business models and platforms; while xCloud will debut on mobile devices, the ultimate goal is to be on 'every screen that someone can stream games to', featuring an accessible and smooth trial experience.
Over time we will continue to expand how we introduce streaming as part of the platform, and playing games that you own that aren’t part of the subscription. For launch, we’re putting it in Ultimate for no additional cost. We think it’s a good audience for us to start with, and it’s an audience that plays a lot of games.
We want to bring Project xCloud, eventually, to every screen that someone can stream games to. Right now we’re just saying mobile. There are discussions going on and we’re working through things. We’ll talk more specifically about which mobile devices through August and the September launch.
We want that trial to be as easy as it is in music and video today, where I can send you a track in Spotify today and you can stream it instantly. Over time, anywhere I see a game I should be able to give it a try.
Later in the interview, Spencer also confirmed that Project xCloud won't be the final name of the service, by the way.
This isn’t the official name, but you should think about it as Game Pass streaming or Xbox streaming, something like that. We actually don’t have the final name just yet, but it won’t be Project xCloud.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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