Game streaming is becoming an ideal solution for casual gamers who don't want to spend a lot of money on hardware they won't fully utilize. Currently, we have solutions from Google with Stadia, NVIDIA with GeForce Now, PlayStation with PlayStation Now, and, of course, Microsoft with Project xCloud.
What is Project xCloud?
Microsoft's idea with its cloud gaming service is to extend the Xbox experience beyond its consoles. With the service, we'll be able to play our entire game library from anywhere, requiring only an internet connection and a compatible device. If we recall the early days of the current Xbox One X, the console was codenamed Project Scorpio during its development, so we can assume the streaming service will have a new name upon its official launch. We don't know if it will be Microsoft xCloud, Xbox xCloud, simply xCloud, or something else entirely, so we'll have to wait until its official release to find out.
Why is it a preview version?
The service is in the testing phase, and at the moment it can only be accessed with the help of an invitation. This invitation can be requested on the official Project xCloud website, although you will have to wait patiently and see if you are lucky, since not all users receive theirs due to high demand.
This controlled release preview version allows Microsoft to test and tune the performance of the service so that when it officially arrives, it will work as smoothly as possible. This implies that currently some errors and lack of performance can be found on many occasions.
The trial period has already ended in the 22 countries that it is offered, so now you only have to download the official application to access the service immediately.
How can I connect?
To connect to Project xCloud you need a compatible device and the official app. At the moment only Android phones and tablets can access the service, but the official iOS app is expected to appear on the App Store sooner or later. Due to the demands of the Apple store, the game streaming service has been left out for not complying with the conditions of use of the Cupertino store.
Apple has modified some of the conditions that prevent it from publishing the application, but it remains to be seen if Microsoft will finally accept the conditions. At the moment, the only application available to download from Project xCLoud is Android, which we leave you below:
What games can I play?
Project xCloud's game catalog is quite impressive, but for now, many questions surround it. Currently, upon logging into the service, we'll find dozens of games ready to play. Gears 5, Bleeding Edge, Borderlands, Tomb Raider … the catalog is immense, and we simply choose the one we want to play to start having fun. Having so many games at our fingertips so easily sounds idyllic, but will it really be that simple?
This is the list of games that the service will offer upon departure:
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- absolver
- Afterparty
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall
- ARK: Survival Evolved
- Astroneer
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Battletoads
- Battle Chasers: Nightwar
- Black Desert
- Blair Witch
- Bleeding Edge
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
- Bridge Constructor Portal
- Carrion
- Children of Morta
- cluster Truck
- Crackdown 3: Campaign
- Crosscode
- Darksiders Genesis
- Darksiders III
- DayZ
- the Blob
- Dead by Daylight
- Dead Cells
- Dead Island Definitive Edition
- Death squared
- Deliver us the moon
- Demon's Tilt
- descenders
- Destiny 2: Shadowkeep & Forsaken expansion (September 22)
- DiRT 4
- Do not starve
- Double kick heroes
- Drake hollow
- Dungeon of the Endless
- Enter The Gungeon
- F1 2019
- Fallout 76
- Farming Simulator 17
- Felix the reaper
- Fishing Sim World: Pro Tour
- For the king
- Forager
- Forza Horizon 4
- Fractured Minds
- Frostpunk: Console Edition
- Gato Roboto
- Gears of War 1: Ultimate Edition
- Gears of War 4
- Gears of War 5
- Goat Simulator
- golf with your friends
- Grounded
- Guacamelee! 2
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Halo Wars 1: Definitive Edition
- Halo Wars 2
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection
- Halo: Spartan Assault
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
- Hello Neighbor
- Hollow Knight
- hot shot racing
- Human Fall Flat
- hyperdot
- Hypnospace outlaw
- indivisible
- Journey to the Savage Planet
- Katana ZERO (Coming soon)
- Killer Instinct DE
- Kona
- levelhead
- Lonely Mountains: Downhill
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
- Metro 2033 Redux
- Middle Earth: Shadow of War
- Minecraft: Dungeons
- MINUTES
- Moody: Reverie Under the Moonlight
- moonlighter
- Mortal Kombat
- Mount & Blade: Warband
- Moving Out
- Mudrunner
- Munchkin: Quacked Quest
- Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
- My time at portia
- Neon abyss
- New Super Lucky's Tale
- NieR: Automata
- Night Call
- Night in the Woods (Coming soon)
- No Man's Sky
- Nowhere prophet
- -
- Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps
- Overcooked! 2
- Oxenfree
- Pathologic 2
- Pikuniku
- Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition
- Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
- ReCore: Definitive Edition
- Remnant: From the Ashes
- Resident evil 7 biohazard
- Rise & Shine
- River City Girls (Coming Soon)
- Sea of ​​Thieves: Anniversary Edition
- Sea Salt
- Secret neighbor
- ShadowWarrior 2
- Slay the Spire
- Sniper Elite 4
- Spiritfarer
- State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
- Stellaris
- Stranger Things 3: The Game
- Streets of Rage 4
- Streets of Rogue
- Subnautica
- Surviving Mars
- Tacoma
- Tell Me Why Episode 1 - 3
- Terraria
- The Bard's Tale IV: Directors Cut
- The Bard's Tale Remastered and Resnarkled
- The Bard's Tale Trilogy
- The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- The Gardens Between
- The Jackbox Party Pack 4
- The Long Dark
- The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game
- The Messenger
- The Outer Worlds
- The Surge 2
- The Touryst
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- The Escapists 2
- The Talos Principle
- The Turing Test
- The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Episodes 1 through 5
- The Walking Dead: Michonne – Episodes 1 – 3
- The Walking Dead: Season Two
- theHunter: Call of the Wild
- Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales
- Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
- Fully Reliable Delivery Service
- Touhou luna nights
- Tracks - The Train Set Game
- trail makers
- Train sim world 2020
- Two Point Hospital
- undermine
- Untitled Goose Game
- Void bastards
- Wandersong
- Warhammer Vermintide 2 (Coming soon)
- Wasteland remastered
- Wasteland 2: Director's Cut
- Wasteland 3
- We Happy Few
- West of Dead
- Wizard of Legend
- World War Z
- Worms WMD
- Xeno Crisis
- Yakuza 0
- Yakuza Kiwami
- Yakuza Kiwami 2
Are there differences between playing online and on a console?
Obviously there are. In order for the image of a game to be broadcast directly on your screen as soon as possible, it is necessary to adjust the bandwidth consumption to the maximum. Just so you understand, it's the same thing that happens with Netflix, which offers images of lower quality than a blu-ray but practically unnoticeable. Depending on the connection speed, the image quality will be better or worse, but never better than a console. In addition, the graphic quality that Project xCloud emulates is similar to that of an Xbox One S, so an Xbox Series X will always show better graphics.
It costs money?
To access the service we will need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate account. This service costs 12,99 euros per month, and allows us to access both the Xbox Game Pass library on Console and PC and the Project xCloud cloud library. If you are not a subscriber, you can always try the service for 1 euro during the first month, going to 12,99 euros in the second month of service.
And remember, the individual modalities of Xbox Game Pass for PC and Xbox Game Pass for Console (9,99 euros each) do not include access to Project xCloud.