After more than a year on Android devices, the Xbox Cloud Gaming tech will begin rolling out to PC and iOS platforms starting tomorrow, April 20. As Google Stadia did previously this year, Microsoft has circumvented Apple's stringent game publishing rules by offering Game Pass subscribers the ability to stream games via the cloud using a web browser.
Xbox Cloud Gaming will work on Chrome, Safari, and Edge browsers. From tomorrow, select Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will be invited to begin playing that way using a library of over 100 games at launch, including over 50 that offer touch controls for those who prefer them. They can head to xbox.com/play to access the Xbox Cloud Gaming hub where they'll find the library of games to begin playing instantly.
The Xbox team stresses this is a beta, and that means may play like one. "The limited beta is our time to test and learn; we’ll send out more invites on a continuous basis to players in all 22 supported countries, evaluate feedback, continue to improve the experience, and add support for more devices," said the press release. "Our plan is to iterate quickly and open up to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in the coming months so more people have the opportunity to play Xbox in all-new ways."
The team did not specify how it will determine which users are invited in the earliest run, but assume that if you're a Game Pass Ultimate member, you may get called up to start playing tomorrow.
Game Pass is also natively available on PC, and Microsoft also has plans for a Game Pass Smart TV app which may debut later in 2021.
