This week, the cloud-gaming feature on Microsoft’s Xbox is opening up to Windows 10 PCs, iPhones, and iPads via a limited beta.
According to a new press release, Microsoft will send out the first beta invites tomorrow to a select group of players subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which costs $16.99 CAD a month.
The cloud-gaming feature, also known as xCloud, has been a free perk on the Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It removes the need to play the game on an Xbox console. Instead, users can simply stream the title over a Wi-Fi or mobile internet connection.
This beta, as Microsoft explains, is to “test and learn,” as the company plans to evaluate feedback to improve the experience for all users. Ultimately, Microsoft wants to “bring gaming to the 3 billion players around the world.”
It’s unclear how Microsoft is going about selecting Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to participate in the beta, though the company stated that it will send out invites on a “continuous basis.”
This is a significant expansion for the company’s cloud gaming service. While the service is currently available for Android devices, bringing this functionality to the browser and iOS will likely cover a much larger demographic than only being available on Android.
Microsoft and Apple previously had public disagreements about Game Pass, where Apple wanted each game to be to be run through the App Store, and Microsoft ultimately had to take to web browsers as a workaround.
