Xbox Cloud Gaming available countries (November 2025)
Xbox Cloud Gaming, also simply known asXbox Cloud, is acloud gaming service as part ofXbox offered byMicrosoft Gaming.[3] Initially released in beta testing in November 2019, the service later launched for subscribers ofXbox Game Pass Ultimate on September 15, 2020. Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming is provided to subscribers at no additional cost.[4] Xbox Cloud Gaming operates by linking the device to a remote server in the cloud.[5]
The ideas for the cloud service came within Microsoft around 2016, around the same time that Kareem Choudhry developed theXbox 360 backwards compatibility for the Xbox One. As his team developed this solution, Choudhry also had the idea if they could provide these games without having need of a console, and got Spencer's go-ahead to start a small team to determine the feasibility of cloud gaming. The technology was deemed successful enough at around the time ofXbox Game Pass's introduction that Microsoft assembled a larger team to build up the cloud gaming platform.[6]
Microsoft teased the service atE3 2018 and formally announced Project xCloud several months later, in October 2018.[7] They demonstrated the service in March 2019 with the racing gameForza Horizon 4 playing on anAndroid smartphone with anXbox One controller.[8] Xbox headPhil Spencer used a private server during this time to test games on a remote connection.[9] The service entered its home testing phase in May 2019, when it could be used outside the lab environment. It entered public testing later in the year and was unveiled atE3 2019.[3]
Microsoft said that its Xbox content library will make its service more appealing than competitors such asStadia.[3] The hardware at launch usedXbox One S-basedblade servers, but began to transition toXbox Series X-based servers in June 2021.[10][11][12] Each server initially had four customized Xbox One S-based units for the 2018 teaser, but this was doubled to eight per server in a2U enclosure for the service's launch in 2019.[13] Compared to the standard Xbox One S, power consumption has been reduced by 30% through processor-specific power tuning. Video output is set for 120 Hz to reduce latency.[14]
On February 12, 2020, Project xCloud launched on Apple's mobile operating system in a preview version.[16]
On May 5, 2020, Project xCloud came to Spain (Europe) in preview (Video on live).[17]
Microsoft released Xbox Cloud Gaming across 21 countries in North America and Europe, as well as in South Korea, on September 15, 2020, for select Android devices, with support for more than 150 games at launch.[18][19]
Xbox Cloud Gaming was released in its beta form for Windows users on August 9, 2021, as a perk of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, though also required users to be registered in the Xbox Insider program.[20] It was officially released as part of the Xbox app for Windows on September 14, 2021, along with Remote Play support from Xbox consoles to a Windows computer.[21] Microsoft introduced a Clarity Boost feature for Windows users through theEdge browser that provides client-side visual improvements to the streamed content.[22]
Microsoft began rolling out testing of Xbox Cloud Gaming for Xbox One consoles on test channels in October 2021, allowing users on those consoles to play Xbox Series X/S games.[23]
In 2024, Microsoft also rolled out Xbox cloud gaming for the Fire TV series of products.
The internet speed requirements for Xbox Cloud Gaming's service is as follows:[24]
Along with updates to the Xbox Game Pass program in October 2025, Microsoft also brought Cloud Gaming out of its beta period, making it available for the Premium and Ultimate tiers of Xbox Game Pass. Additionally, users reported being offered a free, ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming, limited to games the user owns and a small rotating selection of free titles.[25]
Xbox Cloud Gaming is available in the following 29 countries, incl. Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[26]
In September 2021, Microsoft expanded the service to Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico.[27] In June 2022, the service was expanded further to include Argentina and New Zealand.[28] In November 2025, the service was expanded further to include India.[29]
The Xbox Series X/S's backward compatibility allows xCloud to retain the existing library of Xbox games while adding new games from the Xbox Series X/S.[10] The Xbox Game Pass Library currently lists 382 cloud-enabled games.[30] The list includesHalo: The Master Chief Collection,Forza Horizon 5,The Outer Worlds,Yakuza Kiwami 2, andMicrosoft Flight Simulator.[31][32] Microsoft has also announced plans to expand the list of cloud-enabled games to include select Xbox games that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members have purchased from the Microsoft Store.[33]
Microsoft introduced cloud play support for selected original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles using its backward compatibility program starting in March 2021 with 16 titles available. Players are able to use cloud-based saved games from the original release of these titles if they have used that service as part ofXbox Live Gold. Some of the games also support official touch controls when played on mobile devices.[35]
The service received generally positive initial impressions from reviewers.[36][37][38] Playing over aT-MobileLTE connection with just 25 Mbit/s download speed caused no effect on image quality. Even while playing on a moving bus and train, there was no noticeable loss of image quality.[39]
Reviewers also reported that starting up games on the phone feels faster because the games are running on more powerful remote servers rather than a hard drive on a console. Load times are also minimized and closer to aPC gaming experience.[39]
Xbox Cloud Gaming runs via Microsoft's 54Azurecloud computing centers, hosted in 140 countries.[7]Microsoft upgraded itsserver blades to the more capable Xbox Series X hardware in 2021.[40]
The service is designed to work with phones, either withtouchscreen controls or a game controller overBluetooth. Notable supported controller models include:[41]
In March 2021, Microsoft released an update to the Android Xbox Cloud Gaming client that allows dual-screened devices like theSurface Duo to use the second screen to host the touch controls.[43] Several notable games such asMinecraft Dungeons andNew Super Lucky's Tale support the dedicated gamepad on the second screen.[44]
Some games such asGears 5 supportmotion controls using the device's built ingyro and provide a dedicated control scheme when using the gamepad mode.[45]
While Microsoft had planned to release xCloud for iOS devices, the company halted iOS testing in August 2020, asserting that policies on the Apple App Store limited what functionality they could provide for the service.[47] Apple clarified that cloud streaming services like xCloud allow Microsoft to release games onto the iOS platform that bypass the normal checks that Apple performs for other apps, and thus refused to allow the app on the platform.[48]
However, in September 2020, Apple altered its rules that allowed xCloud and other cloud gaming apps to work on iOS, with restrictions that each game must be offered as an individual download on the iOS store which the user must use before playing, though catalog apps as part of the service can list and link to these games.[49] Microsoft responded negatively to this change, stating that
"This remains a bad experience for customers. Gamers want to jump directly into a game from their curated catalog within one app just like they do with movies or songs, and not be forced to download over 100 apps to play individual games from the cloud. We’re committed to putting gamers at the center of everything we do, and providing a great experience is core to that mission."
Microsoft had considered the possibility of making each game its own application as to satisfy Apple's requirements, according toThe Verge based on emails uncovered during theEpic Games v. Apple trial.[51] Microsoft suggested in October 2020 that to work around Apple's restriction, it may bring xCloud to iOS as a browser-basedweb application, which would not have its content restricted by the App Store limitations.[52] The company later announced that it will use this approach to bring a browser-based version of the cloud gaming service to both personal computers and to iOS devices to be released sometime by the second quarter of 2021.[53] An invite-only beta test of the browser version started on April 20, 2021.[54] The full version for all Xbox Game Pass subscribers was released on June 28, 2021.[55]
Microsoft also announced plans to bring cloud gaming to theXbox One andXbox Series X/S consoles later in 2021, which would also allow Xbox One users to play games that are only able to run on the Series X/S consoles.[56][57] The feature was made available on November 17, 2021.[58]
Alongside the iOS browser-based version, browser-based Xbox Cloud Gaming through supported browsers inWindows 10 computers was added for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on June 28, 2021.[53][55] Invite-only beta testing launched alongside the iOS beta test on April 20, 2021.[54] Spencer has also stated that Microsoft is working to bring the service tosmart TVs andstreaming sticks, though a challenge here is assuring minimal latency between the television and the controller.[40][6] Microsoft confirmed in May 2022 that a streaming device was in development under the codenameKeystone.[59] However, by November 2022, Spencer stated that they had ceased development of this device, as it was too costly compared to the Xbox Series S, and surpassed the $99-$129 price range they had envisioned.[60]
In July 2022, Xbox Cloud Gaming was launched on selectSamsung Smart TVs and Smart Monitors via the Xbox app, with support for Bluetooth controllers. Microsoft said that other smart TV brands were being evaluated for the Xbox app for smart TVs.[61][62] The service was also added toMeta Quest VR headsets in December 2023 via a beta version of the Xbox Cloud Gaming app.[63] In June 2024, it was announced that Microsoft had partnered with Amazon to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Fire TV devices through the Xbox TV app.[64]
^May 2020, Vic Hood 05 (April 7, 2021)."Hands on: Project xCloud review".TechRadar.Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. RetrievedNovember 8, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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