© Microsoft Xbox cloud streaming finally comes to Apple devices and PC, featuring dozens of console games, without needing a console.
To play Xbox console games from the cloud on your device you’ll need the following: i. An active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership in a supported region ii. A supported device including Windows 10 PCs, Apple or Android phones and tablets iii. A compatible controller connected via Bluetooth or USB. Select games can be played with Xbox touch. Use Xbox One Mirroring to Stream Content from iPhone or Mac By default, Microsoft has added DLNA features in the Xbox One. DLNA stands for Digital Living Network Alliance, and this feature basically adds the capacity to interact with devices that are connected on the same local network.
Xbox may have released both the Series X and Series S last year, but traditional consoles are only part of Microsoft's plan nowadays.
The tech giant previously trialed Xbox Cloud Gaming on Android devices, and last week they finally brought it to Apple devices (iOS and Mac) and PC, meaning you can play dozens of big-name games on your phone or laptop as if you were streaming a film on Netflix.
As long as you have a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and a compatible controller – which can even be a PlayStation 4 one – you're good to go. No Xbox console necessary.
© Microsoft - Apple Xbox Cloud Gaming on iPhoneRelated: Nintendo responds to Switch Pro console rumours
Aside from the obvious caveat of needing a constant internet connection to stream, the selection is missing some of the titles on the console and PC versions of Game Pass, and Fable II kept freezing at the main menu for us, but it is still in beta at the moment.
Xbox Stream To Mac
Your save files and achievements sync across your streaming devices, as well as on console and Windows 10 store games on PC. A good chunk of games also have touch control options, and we don't just mean games that have also been released on smartphones, we mean big-blooded games like NieR: Automata and Dragon Quest XI.
Video: Xbox Cloud Gaming Service Comes to iOS Devices (Cover Video)
Don't forget that EVERY SINGLE Microsoft Studios (now including Bethesda) game will come to Game Pass on the day of retail release for no extra cost. That includes Halo: Infinite, the Fable reboot and Psychonauts 2, among many others.
© Square Enix Nier AutomataRelated: The best Xbox Series X and Series S games
The streaming is available through web browsers rather than an app, but don't worry that the URL says it's a US-based website, your UK Xbox account and Game Pass Ultimate subscription will work fine.
If you aren't subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate (regular Game Pass doesn't include streaming), the flat rate is £10.99/month (currently £9.85 on ShopTo) or £29.99 for three months (currently £24.85 on ShopTo).
However, Microsoft are also offering to upgrade however many months of Xbox Live Gold you have to Game Pass Ultimate for just £1.
Since you can have up to three years of Gold on your account at one go, buying three years of Gold for £119.55 from ShopTo and paying the £1 upgrade fee is an absolute steal. Just make sure you say no when asked to convert a year of Gold to three months of Game Pass Ultimate when you add that to your account.
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Xbox Stream To Mac App
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Project xCloud, the Microsoft game-streaming service that comes packed as a bonus in certain Xbox Game Pass subscription plans, may finally have a path to working on Apple's range of iOS devices—well after a public row between the tech giants that put the possibility into question.
The news comes from a report by Business Insider, which claimed that an internal Microsoft meeting on Wednesday included a vote of confidence from Xbox chief Phil Spencer. 'We absolutely will end up on iOS,' Spencer reportedly said about getting its streamed Project xCloud game content onto iOS devices in '2021.'
Progressive policies
Previously, Apple shot down existing versions of both Project xCloud (which has since been rolled into the 'Xbox Game Pass' app) and Google Stadia as iOS apps. Their public statements hinged on 'reviewing' the games included in the subscription against App Store guidelines, though the issue could also stem from in-app purchases within both Xbox and Stadia's offerings. Eventually, Apple offered a revised stance on such apps, but this onerous 'approval for every separate game' proposal comes with its own headaches, as opposed to a clear path toward a simple subscription service (as you'll find in popular iOS media apps like Netflix and Amazon Video).
Advertisement Roughly one month later, Amazon announced its own game-streaming service, Amazon Luna, which the company said would work on iOS devices. How? Amazon's plan will skip the App Store and operate instead with a 'progressive Web application' inside of iOS' Safari app, which Apple cannot prohibit in the same way.Xbox Stream To Mac Download
Unsurprisingly, this week's Microsoft meeting included a call to build a similar Web-based solution for getting xCloud running on iOS devices. That would likely broaden xCloud's reach to even more devices, and sure enough, The Verge later confirmed that the same meeting included a call to have xCloud running on Windows 10 devices in 2021.