The next natural step for Microsoft's streaming game service was obviously to make the leap to browsers, and that's just what it seems they're doing at the Redmond offices, since as you've learned The Verge, these screenshots show what the service looks like running from browsers.
xCloud already runs in browsers
Microsoft has officially launched its xCloud service in numerous countries, and plans to expand the list with many more in the coming months. But at the moment the service is only available on Android, so the next task was to cover more platforms with which to attract more users.
And the first step was obviously the browsers. With xCloud running in any C browser, there would be a lot more users interested in the service, especially those who don't have Xbox and are interested in trying out games on the system.
Well, The Verge has had access to a series of screenshots showing the interface of the service running in an Edge browser. Apparently it is a preliminary version of a new update that should not take long to appear, so we are talking about xCloud being able to be played from browsers very soon.
xCloud for iOS
One of the reasons for quickly launching xCloud in browsers is to be able to offer a solution to iOS users. With Apple's ban on bringing the xCloud application to the App Store (for legal reasons included in the terms of service), Microsoft has no choice but to reinvent itself, running from the browser sounded like the simplest and most feasible solution for to get it.
https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/1361276570850127875
In this way, players who want to access the service from iOS will be able to do so from their device's browser without problems, thus achieving a possible new source of users.
An imminent release
The images allow us to see an interface identical to the one we can see in the Android application, being able to launch the games in full screen with total ease. At the moment it is unknown what resolution the interface will handle, so the performance that the service will offer at full capacity remains to be known.
It is important to remember that current servers offer performance equivalent to that of an Xbox One S, and although Microsoft plans to update the components this year, it is currently unknown when the migration to the platform will occur. based on Xbox Series X. Knowing that for now everything runs on Xbox One S, for the moment we will have to forget about playing in 4K, so until Microsoft changes its servers we will not be able to enjoy the maximum resolution from the browser.
This change of servers will also serve to take the next step, which is none other than reaching Smart TVs. Given the well-known relationship between Microsoft and Samsung, it would be pretty obvious to see an app for Samsung Smart TVs, but with the absence of 4K resolution, this would be somewhat unfeasible for now. For now, we'll have to wait for the browser feature to arrive, and we'll see what happens next.