On Monday, Microsoft announced its Project xCloud, a service that will allow players to use titles such as Halo and Forza regardless of whether they play from consoles, PCs or mobile devices.
Project xCloud is a streaming service that will be tested by the public in 2019, but Microsoft has not given an exact date for it to reach everyone since it first has to solve the technical problems of offering Xbox games to almost any device such as Xbox, PC or mobile devices.
“Our goal with Project xCloud is to offer a quality experience for all gamers on all devices that is consistent with speed and high fidelity that players expect on their PC or consoles,” Microsoft said in the announcement.
Microsoft says that existing (and future) Xbox games will be compatible with this service, thanks to new hardware features in their databases. The company says it is already in functioning tests and is being used on phones and tablets connected to a wireless control of Xbox, but can also be used with on-screen controls.
Microsoft has not disclosed the price of the service, but it will almost certainly cost more than your subscription to Spotify or Netflix. Unlike the streaming of a movie or song, streaming a video game is something much more complex, because it is an interactive experience in which there are many variables depending on the actions of the user.
Before launching Project xCloud, Microsoft will have to solve aspects such as low video latency, constant high quality and maintain the reproduction of frames that players expect in a video game. Microsoft says it will enable its 54 Azure data centers to work with Project xCloud.