Xbox Is Setting Itself Up as King of Game Subscriptions
The future of gaming could rely on the option to stream on any device, rather than downloading to a console or PC. | Credit: AP/Kamil Zihnioglu
- XO19 is Xbox’s biggest show of 2019.
- At the live event in London, Xbox has announced a big change to Game Pass.
- Along with Project xCloud, Microsoft seems to be future-proofing the Xbox brand.
XO19 is upon us , and it seems like Xbox is setting their gaming platform up to be 100% future proof. Their flagship game subscription, Game Pass, is already insanely popular with 9.1 million users. The latest announcement about the service indicates that the option to stream, rather than download, will be on its way.
If you’ve ever been concerned that your hard drive was getting filled up, then you might not have much to worry about anymore. This update also brings Xbox Game Pass even more into competition with PSNow, which is Sony’s stream-only service.
Game Pass Getting a Major Upgrade
The new option to actually stream your games is a major step forward for Xbox. While the Game Pass service is undeniably more popular, there have been criticisms. Mainly these issues revolve around a lack of games and no ability to stream rather than download.
With new titles constantly being added to Game Pass, that first issue is steadily being solved. With this latest move from Microsoft, the second issue is soon to be a thing of the past as well.
More Info on Project xCloud
Another step Xbox is taking to future proof their brand is Project xCloud, their upcoming streaming service which allows games to be streamed to PCs and mobile phones. While it has been in beta for a little while, we’ve not had much information about how it’s going to work when it fully releases.
At XO19 we’ve discovered that upon release, Project xCloud will allow users to stream any game in their library to any device. This means that all games in your library will be playable on mobile devices and PCs when the service goes officially live in 2020.
The Future of Video Games
It seems that Microsoft really plans on shoring up the Xbox brand going forward. XO19 has had a heavy focus on Xbox Game Studios developers and their work. With stronger first-party support, more options for Game Pass, and the impending launch of Project xCloud, Xbox seems to be going from strength-to-strength.
Soon it’ll be at the point when there won’t be a moment of the day that you’ll be away from video games. Xbox is taking steps to make sure that they’re at the forefront of that movement.
