Microsoft will reportedly significantly expand the capabilities of Xbox Cloud Gaming next month, introducing the ability for Xbox players to stream any of the games they have purchased.
To date, Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming features have only been available on a select number of Game Pass titles, but Microsoft has long had ambitions of allowing players to stream any game they own. And that feature, The Verge now writes, is almost here.
Citing “sources familiar with [the company’s] plans,” The Verge says Microsoft will introduce the ability to stream “thousands” of Xbox titles, not just those available through Game Pass, starting in November, as part of a long-running internal initiative known as Project Lapland.
It's a feature that was reportedly originally due to launch as part of Project xCloud in 2020, but has repeatedly been “complicated by having to prepare key infrastructure for thousands of games.” And even with the feature supposedly close to release, “some” publishers are said to still hold back certain games “due to licensing requirements or agreements.”
According to The Verge, the ability for players to stream any game in their Xbox library through Xbox Cloud Gaming will initially launch for Xbox Insider testing sometime in November, and will then expand to more users and more games.
The claim follows news this week that it will soon be possible to purchase Xbox games through the Xbox app on Android devices in the US, a move that would dovetail nicely with the expanded streaming capabilities of Xbox Cloud Gaming. for mobile users.