After several months of limited beta testing, Microsoft today is officially launching the public and open beta of its new Xbox Cloud Gaming Platform. This includes support in Safari on iPhone and iPad for playing a subset of Xbox Game Pass games by streaming them from the cloud.
Use Xbox One Mirroring to Stream Content from iPhone or Mac By default, Microsoft has added DLNA features in the Xbox One. DLNA stands for Digital Living Network Alliance, and this feature basically adds the capacity to interact with devices that are connected on the same local network. If you have an Xbox One, though, you’ve now got a decent alternative for streaming games to your Mac in the form of the new OneCast app. For just $10 (regular price $20) and a decent internet. AirServer for Xbox transforms your Xbox into a high performance AirPlay receiver. The streaming is available through web browsers rather than an app, but don't worry that the URL says it's a US-based website, your UK Xbox account and Game Pass Ultimate subscription will work. The Xbox streaming option is distinct from Microsoft's xCloud service, which it has been clashing with Apple over. XCloud is designed to stream games from Microsoft's servers, while the Xbox.
As first announced in an Xbox blog post, Microsoft has officially debuted its new Xbox web interface for accessing the public beta of Xbox Cloud Gaming. The website touts that you can play “over 100 high-quality console games” directly in your browser with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and a compatible controller.
Starting today, Xbox Cloud Gaming is available to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members with Windows 10 PCs and Apple phones and tablets, via browser, across 22 countries. If you’re a member or want to become a member, simply go to xbox.com/play on Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or Safari on your PC or mobile device to start playing hundreds of games from the Xbox Game Pass library.
Microsoft says that cloud gaming on Xbox.com is supported on iPhone and iPad devices running iOS 14.4 or higher. Other requirements include a 10Mbps minimum internet connection and a Bluetooth or USB controller. The company also touts improvements to the Xbox Cloud Gaming experience:
We’re also making significant improvements to the overall experience: Xbox Cloud Gaming is now powered by custom Xbox Series X hardware. We’ve been upgrading Microsoft datacenters around the globe with the fastest, most powerful Xbox hardware to give you faster load times, improved frame rates, and an experience of a new generation of gaming. To ensure the lowest latency, highest quality experience across the broadest set of devices, we will be streaming at 1080p and up to 60fps.
An Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription will run you $14.99 per month, but you can get your first three months for $1 as part of a limited-time promotion. As our colleagues over at 9to5Google note, support for browsers and iOS devices means the service now matches Google Stadia.
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© Microsoft Xbox cloud streaming finally comes to Apple devices and PC, featuring dozens of console games, without needing a console.
Xbox may have released both the Series X and Series S last year, but traditional consoles are only part of Microsoft's plan nowadays.
The tech giant previously trialed Xbox Cloud Gaming on Android devices, and last week they finally brought it to Apple devices (iOS and Mac) and PC, meaning you can play dozens of big-name games on your phone or laptop as if you were streaming a film on Netflix.
As long as you have a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and a compatible controller – which can even be a PlayStation 4 one – you're good to go. No Xbox console necessary.
© Microsoft - Apple Xbox Cloud Gaming on iPhone
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Aside from the obvious caveat of needing a constant internet connection to stream, the selection is missing some of the titles on the console and PC versions of Game Pass, and Fable II kept freezing at the main menu for us, but it is still in beta at the moment.
Your save files and achievements sync across your streaming devices, as well as on console and Windows 10 store games on PC. A good chunk of games also have touch control options, and we don't just mean games that have also been released on smartphones, we mean big-blooded games like NieR: Automata and Dragon Quest XI.
Video: Xbox Cloud Gaming Service Comes to iOS Devices (Cover Video)
Don't forget that EVERY SINGLE Microsoft Studios (now including Bethesda) game will come to Game Pass on the day of retail release for no extra cost. That includes Halo: Infinite, the Fable reboot and Psychonauts 2, among many others.
© Square Enix Nier Automata
Related: The best Xbox Series X and Series S games
The streaming is available through web browsers rather than an app, but don't worry that the URL says it's a US-based website, your UK Xbox account and Game Pass Ultimate subscription will work fine.
If you aren't subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate (regular Game Pass doesn't include streaming), the flat rate is £10.99/month (currently £9.85 on ShopTo) or £29.99 for three months (currently £24.85 on ShopTo).
However, Microsoft are also offering to upgrade however many months of Xbox Live Gold you have to Game Pass Ultimate for just £1.
Since you can have up to three years of Gold on your account at one go, buying three years of Gold for £119.55 from ShopTo and paying the £1 upgrade fee is an absolute steal. Just make sure you say no when asked to convert a year of Gold to three months of Game Pass Ultimate when you add that to your account.
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