Microsoft on Monday began a trial run of letting people play Xbox cloud games using Apple mobile devices as well as Windows-powered computers.

The small test spread across 22 countries is a step by the Xbox maker to allow games typically confined to consoles to be played using smartphones, tablets or personal computers.

The list of countries included the Britain, France and the United States.

"This is an exciting step on our journey to bring gaming to the 3 billion players around the world," project xCloud vice president Catherine Gluckstein said in a blog post.

A limited number of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will receive invitations to be able to access a catalogue of hundreds of titles through Edge, Chrome, or Safari web browsers, according to Gluckstein.

Microsoft planned to make the option available to all Ultimate subscribers in coming months if the test goes well.

Microsoft will be expanding access to its Xbox cloud gaming service to more devices including Apple's smartphones and tablets
Microsoft will be expanding access to its Xbox cloud gaming service to more devices including Apple's smartphones and tablets AFP / Ina FASSBENDER

Xbox Game Pass had some 18 million subscribers worldwide at the end of last year, according to figures released in January by Microsoft chief Satya Nadella.

Microsoft has been playing on the strength of its Xbox unit as it vies with Luna and Stadia cloud gaming services run, respectively, by Amazon and Google.

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