A customer is playing on an Xbox xCloud device at the opening of the Microsoft store on July 11, 2019 in London, England.
Peter Summers | Getty Images
Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service, formerly known as xCloud, will begin rolling out in beta for iPhone, iPad and PC this week. The service will only be invited to start, Microsoft said Monday in a blog post.
Xbox Cloud Gaming was on track to launch earlier for iPhones and iPads, but Apple updated its App Store rules in September that affected services like Xbox Gaming and Google Stadia. Apple’s move forced companies to use web browsers to redesign their services so they could circumvent the App Store rules. By the rules, Microsoft, Google, and other companies with similar services should have offered each game as a single download instead of offering a full library like Netflix does for movies.
Xbox Cloud Gaming is like Netflix for gaming. People who sign up for Microsoft’s $ 14.99 a month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plan can access more than 100 titles. The gameplay aspect of the cloud allows you to play games without having to download them, as long as you have a fast enough internet connection. The streaming option is now available for Android phones.
Microsoft said it will begin deploying the service to 22 countries and will continue to invite new users to try it out. Players only need a Bluetooth or USB controller for most games, although some touch controls are available.