It’s not exactly new technology, but winning a round of Halo 3 on my mobile phone feels wrong – in the best possible way.
While Microsoft is undergoing some nasty twists and turns in its next-generation plans, such as the sudden delay of Halo Infinite, in other areas the tech giant’s unique master plan is expanding as planned. This week, a beta of the Xbox ‘xCloud’ game streaming service became available to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers on Android – and playing for a few hours has really reinforced what Microsoft’s vision for the future is all about.
The next generation is not just about hardware, Microsoft says. It’s not even all about games. Instead, it provides Xbox services – the new hardware almost feels like existing to support the services, instead of the other way around. Playing the near-definitive xCloud beta on mobile, the experience is now so polished that it feels in itself like a next-generation offering.
You can see that vision in the blog posts about the delay of Halo Infinite. It’s not about one big next-generation launch game – it’s about thousands of backwards-compatible games, enhanced games, and subscription services. It’s not even necessarily about buying the new box, as this beta underlines: a large amount of the Game Pass Ultimate library can be booted up on your phone.
Game Pass Ultimate is $ 15 per month – for that price you get access to the Game Pass libraries on both PC and Xbox, a subscription to Xbox Live Gold and now xCloud, the streaming service that means you can record a solid number free games on your phone, tablet or other compatible device, such as your Xbox or PC hardware. It’s good value.
Anyway, arranging Halo 3, Forza Horizon 4 and then Streets of Rage 4 for a few hours on this thing is a bit of a revelation. It’s not like this technology is new – I remember being dazzled during early media access to the long-dead OnLive, and then again convinced that Google Stadiums had the right idea if not the right implementation – but something about the Xbox implementation is simple right.
Maybe it’s that these are just games we all know. Maybe it’s my save syncing over so my progress from PC or console is here on my phone. Maybe it uses a nice, accurate controller. After all, it is a combination of these factors in addition to some others outside. Unlike many cloud gaming services to date, this feels like a complete, genuine, fully functional service – and one that is actually useful in the context of more traditional gaming.
Do not make me wrong; Playing Halo 3 on a 6-inch screen is not the design experience. The user interface is small. I also did not have a controller clip, so my phone was repaired – again, not ideal. But the fact that this works despite factors like this is the ultimate proof that it’s just a great idea.
I played on a 4G mobile connection and found it stable and good looking. Sometimes I get into the particular Halo artifact, but the xCloud tech seems to prioritize a smooth experience over visual fidelity – which is smart. I prefer a slight visual hiccup as quality drops that do not interrupt the gameplay than hitching that can ruin a perfectly equipped shot.
The best thing about the offering that is currently in beta is probably the Game Pass app itself. This is the thing that binds everything together, and what this ultimately feels like a new, exciting next-generation experience. It is a wine and a pleasure to use.
This beta version – which is listed separately to the current app in the Google Play Store – is just slick. You can flip between Cloud, Console and PC gameplay titles, as well as order remote installation on your registered machines. This means you can try a game on the go through the Cloud, then if you enjoy it download it at home to go through locally. Your progress will be automatically transferred. Games start quickly and smoothly, and it handles things like synchronizing new controller well.
This is smart, because it gives cloud gamers a reason to buy an Xbox, but also because it better complements where cloud technology is: it’s a great addition to having a console, but not necessarily a replacement. The strength of xCloud is an enormous string for the Xbox arc that goes to the next generation.
At the moment, only the Xbox games will be playable via the Cloud, but those are still well over 100 titles – and hopefully the Xbox library will expand over time and the PC library will also be playable via the Cloud.
Anyway, it just works. I’ve played with xCloud a few times before, but I was still surprised by how good the whole experience now feels in each other. If you have an Android phone, you should definitely try it: this beta runs until September 11th, then service will be interrupted shortly before the final release on September 15th.
