It is worth noting Microsoft has still not put an official date on the launch of Project xCloud. However, the company has already confirmed the service will launch sometime in October. We do know the first preview run will be limited to a “small number of participants”. The number of games will also be limited. “In the first phase of the Project xCloud public preview, featured games will be Gears 5, Halo 5: Guardians, Killer Instinct and Sea of Thieves,” explains a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge. “For initial testing purposes, we aim to gather insights from engaged and active players from those communities. We’ll continue to expand our content catalog over the course of the preview and will share more details in the near future.” If you are unfamiliar with xCloud, it is a service that allows users to play Xbox One games anywhere and, on any device, including smartphones. Because all data and computing power is hosted in the cloud, gamers can get console-grade gaming from Xbox on their handsets.
Details
Some device requirements are needed to test Project xCloud. The preview will be limited to Android smartphones and tablets running Android 6.0 or above and Bluetooth 4.0. Furthermore, a Bluetooth supported Xbox One controller is also needed. Microsoft will also include a Game Streaming app to provide an accompaniment to xCloud through the Google Play store. In August, Microsoft launched a placeholder app for xCloud on the Windows Store. Microsoft confirmed at E3 2019 that Project xCloud will launch in 2019. The company says the platform “has the technical capability to stream more than 3,500 games” without developers changing their content.
