Xbox Insiders can now stream cloud games to their consoles
Ever wanted to try playing Xbox Series X/S games via the cloud on your aging Xbox One? Well, we've got some good news for you.
Microsoft has finally started to roll out Xbox Cloud Gaming – the feature formally known as xCloud – to Xbox consoles. The company announced it was inteding to bring this functionality to consoles last month, and now we're starting to see it become available for anyone signed up to the Xbox Insider program.
At its most simple, the Xbox Cloud Gaming service arriving on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S will allow you to stream games and try them out before you commit to saving them to your console. Don't expect 4K functionality here, though; this is all targeted at 1080p in a 'try before you buy' fashion.
But there's another, more important application of the service on console: the service will also eventually allow you to play Xbox Series X/S exclusive games - like Microsoft Flight Simulator - on Xbox One, though that won't be viable at launch.
Over 100 Xbox Game Pass titles will be available as part of this first wave of Xbox Cloud Gaming integration on console, and you'll be able to, say, jump into a game of Minecraft Dungeons with your friend without having to download the title first – all thanks to the power of the cloud.
If you don't have access to the Cloud Gaming flight just yet, don't fret: Microsoft is currently rolling out access to a “random subset of Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha Insiders” (thanks, The Verge). You likley won't have too long to wait until you can try this streaming experience for yourself.
Microsoft previously said the public can expect access to this feature by holiday 2021.