Microsoft is preparing to significantly expand its streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming. Next month, the company will begin testing the function of streaming games located in the personal libraries of Xbox users, and not just those available through an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Members of the Xbox Insiders program will be the first to evaluate the innovation.
Image source: xbox.com
The upcoming innovation will allow you to stream significantly more titles compared to the current Xbox Game Pass offering. Once testing is completed, the feature will be available to a wider audience. While Microsoft is committed to making a huge range of titles available, some publishers may restrict streaming of their titles due to licensing agreements.
The innovation coincides with Microsoft’s plans to allow game purchases directly from the Xbox mobile app for Android in the United States. This became possible thanks to a recent court decision obliging Google to abandon the mandatory use of Google Play Billing (a system for paying for purchases in any applications from Google Play) from November 1.
Starting next month, gamers will be able to buy and play Xbox games directly from an app on Android, Xbox CEO Sarah Bond said. That is, the Xbox Cloud Gaming service will allow you to purchase any project you like and immediately start broadcasting it on your mobile device.
Initially, Microsoft planned to launch streaming games from users’ personal libraries in 2020 using the xCloud cloud gaming service, and then in 2022 as part of Xbox Cloud Gaming, but the implementation of the project was delayed. According to available information, difficulties arose due to the need to prepare the infrastructure for additional load.
In addition, Microsoft is developing a mobile version of the Xbox Store, accessible through a browser. The launch was supposed to take place back in July, but already in August the company announced the start of testing the web version of the store and promised to share new details in the future.