This Wednesday (9/12), Microsoft confirmed once again that xCloud Gaming will be coming to iPhone. Now, with a date. According to a statement on the company's website, the service Xbox Game Pass game streaming will be available to iOS users via web browser in Q2021 XNUMX.
Xbox has previously expressed interest in launching xCloud Gaming for iOS. It ended up declaring that the privacy policies of Apple prevented them from releasing a functional Game Pass app for the iPhone, as the Apple restricts the option to sell games to the App Store only.
The solution will therefore be to provide players with access through their device's browsers. According to Xbox, this model is not yet ideal and considers that the browser's xCloud Gaming will technically be a "beta" of what they intend to offer to iPhone owners.
Microsoft wants to expand Game Pass to other platforms
In November, Xbox Vice President Phil Spencer spoke a little more about his desire to bring the xCloud Gaming for Android and iPhone devices. The executive considers the user base extremely important for the survival of video games, considering that, today, there are more cell phones than consoles in the world.
According to Spencer, within a year, companies like Apple and Samsung would sell more devices than an entire generation of video games. Despite Microsoft's interests, everything indicates that Apple will maintain strict App Store guidelines when it comes to selling games. In addition to Game Pass, Epic Games (owner of Fortnite) has also faced problems with the company to the point that its launcher was banned from the app store. The company is currently moving a lawsuit against the Apple.
The future is streaming
Game streaming services have grown considerably in 2020. Streaming a game takes almost all of the processing power out of the machine. With this technology, it is theoretically possible to play an advanced game on any toaster (or your cousin's inherited cell phone). In addition to xCloud Gaming, Amazon has recently also announced a proprietary platform: Luna. Meanwhile, Google struggles to consolidate Stadia services after one year of its creation.
xCloud is available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. To promote the service to new subscribers, Microsoft lowered the monthly fee from R$44,90 per month to R$5 for the first three months.
Street: 9to5Mac
