Microsoft's xCloud streaming has proven successful against the likes of Google Stadia and GeForce Now, offering Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers the chance to play Game Pass titles on their mobile devices.
xCloud streaming currently only supports 720p gaming which, when compared to the 4K gaming that the Series X offers, may put some Xbox players off the service.
However, reports from Windows Centralsuggest xCloud is set to receive a resolution upgrade pretty soon...
Microsoft testing 1080p cloud gaming
According to Windows Central, Microsoft is currently testing 1080p streaming for its cloud gaming service. This report came after the site received images of Hellblade running at a 1920x1080 resolution, which it claims was sent "from a trusted source".
Google Stadia's current free tier of streaming also offers players 1080p capabilities, although Stadia Pro supports 4K resolutions. However, given that most mobile devices have a resolution of 1080p, targeting 4K may be overkill for xCloud, at least until they add Windows support.
This upgraded resolution will be made possible by the alleged hardware upgrade the xCloud servers are set to receive. Currently running on Xbox One hardware, the servers will soon be upgraded to next-gen capabilities.
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The future of xCloud
Since xCloud launched out of beta in September 2020, Xbox has laid out a number of upgrades coming in the future. The first of these is likely to be support for iOS devices via a browser-based solution, following Apple's refusal to add xCloud to the App Store.
Alongside this, xCloud is set to release on Windows PC devices in the future, meaning PC players may no longer need to download these Xbox games before playing them.
Aside from this, as xCloud supports a large chunk of the Xbox Game Pass library, it will continue to add more games to its mobile library. With Halo Infiniteset to launch later this year, we might even get to play as Master Chief on-the-go. What a world we live in.
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