Xbox Cloud Gaming support has begun rolling out to compatible Xbox consoles for a subset of gamers, with wider support arriving over the coming weeks. Microsoft will allow Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X owners in select regions to stream games over the cloud, as long as they have an active Game Pass Ultimate subscription. This means that gamers can now try out a wide range of titles using their Game Pass, instead of spending their time downloading the full game.
The company announced support for Xbox Cloud Gaming on November 16, stating that 25 regions will be supported at first. Microsoft also revealed that the arrival of Xbox Cloud Gaming would benefit Xbox One users, which will allow them to play next-generation games such as The Medium and The Riftbreaker without having to buy an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S.
Xbox Cloud Gaming could come in handy for users with fast connections but limited internet bandwidth, as they can now use their Game Pass Ultimate subscription to quickly try them out before deciding to download the entire game. It could also come in handy for those who don’t want to wait for a popular new gaming title to download, allowing them to start playing immediately.
Back in August, Microsoft announced at Gamescom 2021 that Xbox Series S/X and Xbox One consoles would receive Xbox Cloud Gaming support, along with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. At the time, the company had said it was looking to launch the service, which was in beta testing at the time, “by holiday 2021.”
Microsoft says that while support has started rolling out, not all gamers will receive support for Xbox Cloud Gaming at first. “This capability will initially roll out with our November release to a subset of Xbox gamers and scale to all gamers in supported markets over the coming weeks,” the company stated on its website. Gamers who have the functionality enabled on their consoles only need to boot up their consoles, locate the cloud icon, and start streaming games using the Xbox Cloud Service, according to Microsoft.
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