Microsoft is starting testing the xCloud game streaming service in the browser for iOS and iPadOS

Microsoft has begun testing its game streaming service, xCloud, on the web using a browser for iOS and iPadOS, and on a PC using Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, The Verge reports.

Microsoft’s xCloud service allows subscribers to play games by playing them from the cloud, rather than having to download the entire game locally to the device. Apple and Microsoft had a brief moment of controversy in August last year, as the App Store policy restricts services like xCloud from being available on the platform. Apple updated its policy to allow xCloud on the platform, but would require Microsoft to submit each available game to the service individually in the “App Store” and each should be reviewed based on the platform’s guidelines.

Microsoft criticized the rules as a “bad experience for customers” and accordingly said it would push xCloud to iOS and iPadOS users using the Safari browser. Screenshots provided in The Verge just show an xCloud experience using the desktop browser, but the experience on iOS and iPadOS will probably be the same. Users will be able to select a game and play it directly from the browser, although the exact resolution at which the game will be played is not yet known. Typically, services like these will automatically adjust the resolution to suit your specific network capacity.

At launch, xCloud will only support Chromium-based browsers like Edge and Chrome on the PC, however The VergeSenior editor Tom Warren says he expects Safari support to be added after internal testing. With testing underway, there is no set time period for the public launch, however The Verge he guesses that a release “is getting very close.”