Microsoft wants to turn your old laptop into an Xbox Series X console
Could gaming coming to PC
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It looks likeMicrosoftis serious about getting people to playXbox gameson all sorts of devices, and not just consoles, with the company today unveiling its plans for bringing cloud gaming to PCs andweb browsers.
According to Microsoft, later this year it will integrate cloud gaming directly into the Xbox app inWindows 10. Using Microsoft’s Azure servers, you’ll be able to stream games instantly onto yourWindows 10PC, as if you were playing anXbox Series X, with Microsoft’s Kareem Choudrey claiming that the “world’s most powerful console is coming to Azure”.
With Microsoft’s datacenters getting Xbox Series X hardware, people who stream games should get similar experiences to those playing on Microsoft’s new console, including faster load times, and better frame rates on older titles that are now Xbox Series X optimized.
Xbox cloud gaming coming to PC offers up some exciting possibilities. As we’ve seen with game streaming services likeNvidia GeForce NowandGoogle Stadia, it allows you to run games on older or underpowered hardware, essentially turning them into powerful gaming laptops – as long as you have a good enough internet connection.
This could mean you could dig out an old Windows 10 laptop, log in, and start streamingHalo Infinitewhen it finally launches later this year.
It could also prove useful for people who have gaming PCs that are already more powerful than the Xbox Series X.
Cloud gaming is part ofXbox Game Pass for PC, which is a subscription service that offers loads of games for you to play. With cloud streaming, you could quickly try out a game by streaming it. If you like what you see, you could then download it to your PC and play it natively. If you don’t like the game, you’ve not wasted time downloading and installing it. As theXbox Game Passfor PC library grows, which Microsoft promises it will, this feature could become increasingly useful.
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Coming to browsers
Microsoft also announced that in the next few weeks, all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will be able to stream games via their web browsers, including Edge, Chrome andSafari.
This opens up the possibilities of even more devices being able to play Xbox Series X games, including MacBooks, which you’d not typically think of as gaming devices.
Of course, this all depends on how good the streaming service from Microsoft actually is. We’ve seen promising things withNvidiaGeForce Now, which can bring graphically intensive games to devices likeChromebooks, and with Microsoft’s Azure datacenters, which are available in regions around the world, the company is in a good position to deliver on those promises.
It’s also launchingID@Azure, which aims to help independent game developers build cloud-based games. This could end up really setting Microsoft’s cloud gaming service apart from its competitors.
Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.
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