Streaming is becoming more important in today’s gaming industry though it’s still a good way away before we likely see it become a mainstream alternative for gamers. With that said, it’s not stopping companies from setting up their services with Microsoft going through a series of beta tests for the Project xCloud. If you’re unfamiliar with this service, it’s essentially Microsoft’s answer to providing gamers with a means to stream titles on various devices.
This service was already in beta for Android users last year but now Microsoft is extending the service to Apple where iPhone and iPad users can register in hopes of getting access to the xCloud beta. It’s not something everyone will likely get in at right away as the markets available are only the US, UK and Canada. Furthermore, there is a limit to how many users are able to join in so there’s going to be a wait if you’re wanting to try the service out.
Likewise, it appears that the Xbox One streaming feature will not be available. Instead, only one video game is available for the xCloud service and that’s Halo: The Master Chief Collection. This may or may not be an ideal beta to try out for you but at the very least it does look like Microsoft is making some progress in the service to allow a new platform in on the testing.
Again, there’s still plenty of other services attempting to jump in on the streaming service such as Google Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now, PlayStation Now, and of course Microsoft will soon unleash their xCloud service. With that said, there are still some obstacles gamers will have to endure if they wish to really embrace streaming and that’s having a stable internet connection and likely an unlimited supply of bandwidth.
