Microsoft on Monday announced that its browser-based Xbox Cloud Gaming service will enter beta for selected testers on the iPhone and iPad platforms today.
The company began sending out invites to selected Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to test the Xbox Cloud Gaming limited beta for iPhone, iPad, and Windows 10 PCs using a web browser. Invites will be issued on a continuous basis to players in all 22 supported countries.
The platform will be available at xbox.com/play, and will work in the Safari, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge web browsers. Microsoft has stated that it plans to “iterate quickly” on the beta, and open up to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in the coming months. Games will be playable via a controller or touch controls for more than 50 games at first.
This marks the first time that the Xbox Game Streaming service has been made available for the iPhone and iPad since it launched exclusively on Android devices in 2020. Last year, plans to bring an Xbox game streaming app to iOS stalled due to Apple’s App Store rules, which forbids apps from streaming multiple games from the cloud via a single app. This is because Apple believes that its inability to review each game in the service’s library is a potential security risk. Game Pass streaming would only be viable if each game was available as its own app under Apple’s rules.
Microsoft then offered the go-between idea of using a web browser as opposed to an app to circumvent Apple’s App Store rules while still offering the service. Microsoft says that creating a browser-accessible service has a number of advantages in making cloud gaming more accessible, as well as streamlining development into a singular, universal platform.
Microsoft’s games streaming service is bundled as part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for $14.99 per month, with more than 100 games available.
If you get a chance to test this out on your iPhone or iPad, please let us know about your experience in the comments.
Via MacRumors and news.xbox.com