Microsoft begins testing xCloud Game Streaming Service in Browser for iOS and iPadOS

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

Microsoft’s xCloud service allows subscribers to play games by streaming them from the cloud, instead of having to download the entire game locally on the device. Apple and Microsoft had a brief point of contention in August last year as the App Store policy keeps services like xCloud unavailable on the platform. Apple has updated its policy to allow xCloud on the platform, but it would require Microsoft to separately submit each game available on the service to the ‌App Store‌, and each should be assessed against the platform’s guidelines .

Microsoft overturned the rules as a “bad experience for customers” and said it would push xCloud to iOS and iPadOS users through the browser on Safari. Screenshots provided to The edge only show an xCloud experience through the browser on the desktop, but the experience on iOS and iPadOS will likely be the same. Users can select a game and play it directly in their browser, although the exact resolution at which the game will be streamed is not yet known. Typically, such services automatically adjust the resolution to your specific network capacity.

At launch, xCloud only supports browsers built on Chromium such as Edge and Chrome on PC, but The edgeSenior Editor Tom Warren says he expects support for Safari to be added after internal testing. While testing is underway, there is no set time frame when a public launch will occur, however The edge suspects a release is “very close”.