If you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, you can try out the new xCloud streaming service starting today. As in right now.
Game streaming is about to become a real thing. Google Stadia has been around for a bit, and while it’s gaining some traction, it’s still not dethroning traditional games ownership. But Microsoft’s Game Pass is gaining in popularity–mostly because it lets you play over 100 games for a small monthly fee, but pretty soon it’ll also let you stream those games to your mobile device. That’s pretty cool.
And by “pretty soon,” we actually mean right now. But only if you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber.
If you are, go to Google Play and download the new Xbox Game Pass beta app for Android. This new beta release includes xCloud, which doesn’t officially become available until September. That said, Ultimate subscribers are able to try things out in their beta form in order for Microsoft to test how the software will work on multiple devices.
“As we approach the launch of cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on September 15, we’re entering a limited beta period to ensure a smooth transition of the cloud gaming experience to the Xbox Game Pass app on Android,” a Microsoft rep told The Verge in an emailed statement.
“Existing Xbox Game Pass (Beta) app users will get the opportunity to test a subset of the available titles as we ready the experience for broader availability next month. This limited beta is critical to providing the best possible experience for members at launch and should not be considered indicative of the final experience or library.”
The beta app only has around 30 games to choose from, while the full version will have the full 100+. The beta app will also be discontinued on September 11 to make way for the full version.
Keep in mind that this is only for Android users. Apple has made it clear they don’t take kindly to game streaming services on their mobile devices.
Source: The Verge
