Microsoft has pulled back the curtain on its work-in-progress game streaming technology, Project xCloud.
The ‘state-of-the-art’ tech will let users stream games on whatever device they choose, with Microsoft explaining the future of video games is one where players aren’t locked to specific hardware.
“Ultimately, Project xCloud is about providing gamers — whether they prefer console or PC — new choices in when and where they play, while giving mobile-only players access to worlds, characters and immersive stories they haven’t been able to experience before,” reads a post on the Microsoft blog.
The company wants to make it easy for developers to bring their content over to Project xCloud, letting creators deploy and scale access to their titles across multiple devices without the need for any additional work.
To that end, the console maker has already enabled compatibility with existing and future Xbox games by building out custom hardware for its Azure datacenters and creating a tailor-made blade that can host the component parts of multiple Xbox One consoles.
While a lot of work has already gone into the project, the technology is still in its infancy, and Microsoft is predicting a “multi-year journey” before it’s ready for consumers.
The first step along that path will be a public trial in 2019, which will complement the internal tests Microsoft is conducting on mobile devices (phones and tablets) right now.
When it’s finally ready, Microsoft claims Project xCloud will have the capability to make game streaming possible on 4G networks, while also dynamically scaling to push against the outer limits of what’s possible on 5G networks.
“The future of gaming is a world where you are empowered to play the games you want, with the people you want, whenever you want, wherever you are, and on any device of your choosing,” continues the blog. “Our vision for the evolution of gaming is similar to music and movies — entertainment should be available on demand and accessible from any screen.”
You can find out more about the work being done on Project xCloud by checking out the full write-up on the Microsoft blog.