Xbox has begun testing Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) on both Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles. At this point, only a subset of Xbox Insiders with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription are able to preview the feature.
The announcement comes by way of a blogpost over on the Xbox Wire where senior program manager Jake Rosenberg lays out the details concerning the flight. Rosenberg notes that the Xbox Cloud Gaming beta is only available right now “for a random subset of Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha Insiders,” but says, “We will be expanding to more Insiders and additional rings over time.”
Insiders with access to the flight will be able to stream games directly from the cloud at up to 1080p at 60fps without having to download them. To view a list of cloud-supported titles, users can filter for Cloud Gaming in the Xbox Game Pass section of My Games & Apps. Given the service’s beta status, however, testers are likely to run into some issues. For instance, users will have to navigate to the Store to make in-game purchases, as they are not currently supported when playing via the cloud.
Xbox has slowly but steadily developed its cloud gaming feature over the last few years, but a lot of its strides have been made in 2021. Back in June, Xbox launched its browser-based solution for Xbox Cloud Gaming, allowing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in 22 countries to access the streaming service on Windows 10 PCs and Apple phones/tablets. In August, Xbox made the beta available to Insiders on Windows PCs via the Xbox App. During its Gamescom stream later that month, Xbox announced its intentions to make Xbox Cloud Gaming accessible to all Ultimate members this holiday season.
