Streaming video games is the hot new thing; everybody's doing it. Google launched Stadia last year, and Microsoft took xCloud live just a week or two ago. Now Amazon is getting in on the fun, and it has some unique tricks up its sleeve — get ready to meet Luna, a new cloud gaming service from Amazon.
Microsoft formally launched its xCloud game streaming service last week, allowing users to stream console games right from their Android phones — and Android TVs, even if unofficially. Now the company is releasing a big update for the Xbox mobile app that includes brand new features, including the ability for everyone to stream console games to their phones with Xbox remote play.
Xbox Game Streaming officially launched yesterday, allowing you to stream nearly 200 Xbox games to your Android phone or tablet. The service has yet to launch on any other platforms, and Microsoft is sticking hard to the mobile requirement — despite their ability to run Android apps, both Chromebooks and Android TV are unsupported.
Last month we learned that xCloud, Microsoft's cloud gaming service, would be coming to Android on September 15. On the verge of public availability, we've now learned the full list of games that will be playable on Android devices starting tomorrow. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will gain access to over 150 games, with some exciting (and surprising) titles.
Apple's draconian App Store policies have been criticized time and time again, and most recently, they led to a lawsuit by Epic Games. The company also recently blocked game streaming services like Google Stadia and Xbox Game Streaming from entering the App Store. Apple has now updated its policies to allow game streaming services, but only if they go through many hoops.
Xbox Game Streaming (formerly known as xCloud) is shaping up to be one of the best game streaming services around, and after the platform's recent ban from the Apple App Store, Android will be its only mobile home. Later this year, the service will have even more games from publisher Electronic Arts, thanks to a new partnership between the two companies.
Last week, we reported Microsoft's game streaming service xCloud would launch on September 15 and that it would initially require an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Although there's still more than a month left until the service officially becomes available, Microsoft is allowing people to beta test it starting today.
Google has stayed quiet about bringing its Stadia game streaming platform to iOS, even though the game library application has been available on the App Store for a while now. Meanwhile, Microsoft has been testing its xCloud competitor on iOS, but now it seems neither product will see a full release on Apple's mobile devices.
This story was originally published and last updated .
Last month, Microsoft announced a big round of updates regarding the future of its gaming strategy, giving us more details on its upcoming Xbox Series X and backward compatibility. The company also gave some attention to its cross-platform Stadia competitor, xCloud (our comparison here). Microsoft is finally getting ready to launch the service and has shared that it'll come September 15 as part of the existing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which costs $14.99 a month. The Xbox developers have also shown off some game-specific touch controls, developed in cooperation with the respective studio.
8Bitdo is pretty well known for its modern-but-retro-styled Bluetooth controllers. They're a favorite among the AP staff and a good choice for folks big into emulation. The company is adapting one of its best-selling game controllers specifically for Microsoft's Stadia-like upcoming xCloud game streaming service. The new controller is a tweaked version of the existing SN30 Pro, with a new Xbox-friendly color scheme and explicit Microsoft xCloud compatibility.