Microsoft has certainly upped the game! Azure is the force behind, xCloud, a new initiative from the Redmond based company that was confirmed during the second session of SDC 2018.
The Samsung developer conference in San Francisco.
Game streaming may not exactly be a new thing, but when you bring in the power and flexibility of the Azure cloud platform into the mix, things get pretty novel, pretty fast.
Not to be left behind by Google and its Project Stream that streams games directly to a desktop Chrome browser, Microsoft’s Project xCloud casts a wide net to include as many devices as possible — it can even beam games to your smartphone.
The company is currently still working on this new game streaming service that aims to bring console quality games to a wide variety of devices, including in particular, mobile devices from Samsung.
Including titles like Halo 5 and Read Dead Redemption 2 that are presently available on game consoles.
Sarah Bond, Head of Global Gaming Partnerships and Development at Microsoft:
“We’re going to create a future where the hundreds of millions of people who are holding a Samsung device are also holding a gateway to a high-powered gaming experience.”
Project xCloud will enable owners of the Samsung Galaxy smartphones to play console games using an Xbox wireless controller via Bluetooth. Support for touch input is also on the cards.
Of course, there are obstacles along the way — low latency video streaming being the primary concern. But these will be overcome thanks to Microsoft Azure cloud technology at the backend and experts at Microsoft Research at the helm.
Microsoft is in a unique position to take its 40 years of experience, its community of Xbox Live users and its global infrastructure that spans 54 regions around the globe.
All that said, the company is still coy on the details.
The company has not revealed when xCloud will be available, not even for Samsung devices. But did confirm that it is readying the technology in its datacenters and would launch it when it is ready for the public.
