Xbox Cloud Gaming On iOS Arrives On Game Pass Ultimate For All (cnet.com) 12
Browser-based Xbox Cloud Gaming leaves the limited beta it's been in since the end of April and formally rolls out an open beta for iPhone, iPad and Windows 10 (or Windows 11!) PCs. CNET reports: In conjunction, the Backbone One mobile gaming controller for the iPhone [...] joins the Designed for Xbox program, with specific features designed to make you feel more like you're playing on an Xbox or standalone device. Xbox Cloud Gaming, nee Project xCloud, lets you play a subset of Xbox Game Pass games on a device other than a console by streaming them from the cloud, a la Google Stadia and Nvidia GeForce Now. It, like others, follows Amazon Luna's lead of using a web app to circumvent Apple's App Store policies which effectively shut out cloud gaming apps. For Windows PCs, it lets you play games your system might not otherwise have the power or space to run locally via Game Pass for PC.
Well I do have to complement Microsoft here. (Score:2)
But not a good deal for developers (Score:1)
Doesn't sound like a good deal for developers to have 300+ games split up a flat $10/month
When the service switches away from the subsidized growth phase and focuses on profitability, the value is going to tank hard
Re: (Score:2)
Doesn't sound like a good deal for developers to have 300+ games split up a flat $10/month
That doesn't sound like a deal involving developers at all. The question for developers is what does their deal look like? Are they paid based on usage?
When the service switches away from the subsidized growth phase and focuses on profitability, the value is going to tank hard
That's what they said about Microsoft's entertainment division, which is now one of their profitable units.
It didn't arrive on iOS. (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Well, the primary reason why Microsoft made a web version was to get it on iOS.
It just happens that the obvious workaround Apple left open to get it working on iOS also means it works on many other platforms as well. So in a way, Apple's requirements improved Microsoft's offerings - instead of having to use an app, now there's a multiplatform web version available.
I also expect Microsoft to exploit this benefit - suddenly they have a no-
Re: (Score:2)
except of course playing in a browser is definitely a second rate experience, basically only people locked in Apples Jail cells would choose this method.
They're used to an inferior experience, especially when it comes to gaming. Most of them won't even notice.
Another stupid subscription service (Score:2)
When lack of usable internet connections is still a problem 100X the size of constrained computer chips there's half a dozen companies trying and failing to run remote gaming services over the internet. Often times the absurd latency and throughput misses aren't even the biggest problems, but rather the "cloud" they attempt to run it all on is too weak to keep up.
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LOL... (Score:2)
Edge (Score:2)
I tried loading it up using Edge browser on iOS and got a warning that the browser might not be compatible. Wasn't really expecting that TBH.
Re: (Score:2)
Pretty bad considering there's only one browser for iOS and the rest are reskins.