What just happened? Xbox is finally launching its cloud gaming service (beta) for Xbox One and Series X|S consoles. To benefit from the new feature, users will have to be subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate and live in one of the 25 regions that will have it available, but more are coming soon.
Continuing the 20th anniversary celebration of Xbox, Microsoft is making cloud gaming available on Xbox One and Series X|S consoles for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. The service was first introduced to Android devices in September 2020, back when it was still named Project xCloud, but only now is it making its way to Microsoft consoles.
Thanks to cloud gaming, you'll be able to play Xbox Game Pass games before installing them, saving precious storage space, and even join a friend that invited you to play a Game Pass game without installing it. To find which games currently support cloud gaming, visit the Microsoft Store through your console or browser and search for the games with a cloud icon or the "Cloud Enabled" tag.
If you own an Xbox One and are an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, you can even play a few Series X|S titles available on Game Pass, including Recompile, The Medium, and The Riftbreaker. This list is increasing with Microsoft Flight Simulator in early 2022.
Xbox cloud gaming will begin rolling out in 25 regions, with Brazil coming next. You can see all regions where the service is available on the Xbox Game Pass list in the "Cloud gaming (Ultimate only)" column. Starting this month, select Xbox users can try cloud gaming on their consoles, expanding to other markets in the coming weeks.
Introducing cloud gaming in Xbox One and Series X|S consoles adds value to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, but it's still too soon to say if it will become a key selling point. Last month, when Axios published Game Pass subscriber data, it showed a healthy 37 percent increase in sales during FY2021, but it wasn't enough to meet the 48 percent target.
In celebration of Xbox's 20th anniversary, Microsoft also partnered with Adidas to create the Xbox 20th Forum Tech sneakers and launched themed accessories and merchandise for fans.