Microsoft Enters Game Streaming Market With Xbox-Focused Project xCloud

More and more major tech companies seem to believe that video game streaming will be viable in the near future. On Monday, Microsoft entered the ring with Project xCloud, an ambitious attempt to make Xbox games playable on tablets and phones through the company’s cloud computing architecture.

Essentially, Microsoft will use its massive Azure cloud system to make games like “Halo” and “Sea of Thieves” playable on more than just Xbox devices, and with more than just Xbox controllers. Bluetooth controllers will be supported, but players will also be able to play those games with a touch interface, according to xCloud promotional materials.

Microsoft has Azure data centers in 54 different regions, which will eventually be outfitted with custom Xbox hardware to enable wireless-game streaming. The company is banking on the quality of its cloud tech being able to overcome the many issues that have made game streaming a novelty at best in other available services.

Game-streaming services like PlayStation Now and the long-discontinued OnLive all run into the same problem: video games are interactive. Drops in streaming quality, latency between button presses, on-screen responses and sudden buffering are all far more disruptive to the experience than they would be while streaming a movie.

A lack of consistent broadband availability and monthly data caps in parts of the U.S. also make game streaming inaccessible to some potential customers. Microsoft acknowledged some of those problems, claiming its technology could provide a solution that works across a wide variety of networks and devices.

“Our goal is to deliver high-quality experiences at the lowest possible bitrate that work across the widest possible networks, taking into consideration the uniqueness of every device and network,” Microsoft corporate VP of gaming cloud Kareem Choudhry wrote in the xCloud announcement post.

Project xCloud is in private testing now and will enter a public testing phase in 2019. If it works, it could boost the company’s gaming revenue by offering Xbox titles to customers who do not own Xbox consoles. Last week, Google announced a similar undertaking with Project Stream. The invite-only beta will let participants play through the recently released “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” within the Chrome web browser.