Play Xbox titles without a console, on a smartphone or TV? This is possible with Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming, which offers a streaming game formula. A system that will revolutionize the world of video games.
In recent years, Microsoft has gradually implemented a completely new strategy in the video game market. While a merciless war pits it against Sony in the field of new generation consoles – the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, which are regularly out of stock – the American giant is seeking to attract new players to its online services in order to to offer them a totally different way of playing: streaming games. A technological revolution that changes everything.
The streaming game takes several principles from video or music on demand services – such as Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Deezer, Spotify, etc. First, you don’t pay to own a physical copy of a work, as is the case with a DVD or CD, but to access a catalog containing a very large number of films, series or music. for a monthly fee. It’s the same for streaming games: for a monthly subscription, you have access to a catalog of video games. Then, as with VOD services, as soon as you have an account, you can enjoy it on different devices: game console, computer, but also smartphone, tablet or television! You can thus start a game on a fixed device, at home, and continue it on a mobile, on the train or the bus. Magical !
This second advantage is linked to the technical aspect of streaming, to its very essence. The device that supports the game – computer, console, TV, mobile… – calculates almost nothing: it is practically only used to display the images of the game which are calculated remotely, by specialized servers, and sent in real time. To simplify, the device serves only as a screen and as a control device. All heavy processing, which requires powerful processors, especially for graphics, is carried out remotely on the servers.
To enjoy the game in streaming, or cloud gaming, all you need is a fast Internet connection and a screen with controls: a computer, a box, a connected television, a smartphone or a tablet. But even if it’s the server that does everything, you still have to limit the latency between the server and the player as much as possible since games are by nature interactive, unlike movies or music: they therefore require exemplary responsiveness since it is not possible to preload data, especially for online multiplayer games.
It is on the principle of game streaming that Microsoft has built its Xbox Cloud Gaming, a service allowing games to be played on all platforms. To take advantage of it, you must subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, a service launched in 2017 allowing access to a catalog of games for a monthly payment. A particularly interesting offer when you know the prices of boxed games, especially since the Xbox catalog offers hundreds of titles, including blockbusters. But, as with Netflix, games are regularly added and removed from the catalog, with some games then becoming inaccessible. This is the major drawback of this system, which is similar to rental. It is then necessary to buy them “in hard” to continue to play there. And, of course, as soon as you unsubscribe, you no longer have access to any game, as is the case for films and series on SVOD platforms!
Microsoft currently offers three Xbox Game Pass plans.
- Xbox Game Pass for console : it offers access to a well-stocked catalog of games on console (on Xbox One and on Xbox Series S or Series X) as well as discounts and access to Xbox Game Studios games on the day of their release, all for a price of €9.99 per month.
- Xbox Game Pass for PC : it’s exactly the same offer, but for PC games, again for €9.99 per month.
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate : it offers special advantages as well as access to the entire catalog on all platforms, including a hundred games available for streaming from the cloud on all platforms – the famous Cloud Gaming – for € 12.99 per month.
What to expect from Microsoft about game streaming? For now, Xbox Cloud Gaming is only limited to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate catalog of games and access to Fortnite without a subscription. Nevertheless, as announced at the What’s Next for Gaming event in 2022, Microsoft wants to further expand its Cloud Gaming. Please note, however, that not all games from the Xbox Store will be available to be played in Cloud Gaming. There is currently only a “selection” of games compatible with streaming play.
The American giant seems to be continuing this route since it has just unveiled the Xbox Keystone, a small console designed solely for Xbox Cloud Gaming. In addition, Microsoft has revealed via its official website that, from the end of June, recent models of connected TVs sold by Samsung, as well as the Korean brand’s Neo QLED models, released in 2022, will integrate an Xbox application. . Other brands are expected to receive the app in the coming weeks and months.
The competition is more advanced on these broadcasting issues. Google’s Stadia and Amazon’s Luna cloud gaming offerings can be accessed through the respective boxes. But Microsoft has the advantage on its catalog of games, which is much richer. As for Sony, its PlayStation Plus offer only gives access to a limited selection of console or PC games, and not to smartphones, unlike Microsoft. Note also that the Xbox Cloud Gaming service, still in full development, is available in 28 countries, including France.