Microsoft xCloud cloud gaming service is coming to PC and iOS as Xbox gets a new update

Microsoft has just shared two announcements around its Xbox ecosystem. First of the two outlines some information around xCloud, the cloud gaming service from Microsoft. Looking at the details of this announcement, xCloud beta is set to come to PC and iOS on April 20. It is worth noting that the service has not reached a stable state and it is still in a Beta state. Moving to the second announcement, the company rolled out a new preview update for its latest console lineup, the Xbox Series X and S. This new update improves the Quick Resume feature available on the console and introduces a new audio pass-through feature. Let’s check everything we know about the expansion of the Microsoft xCloud cloud gaming service and the new Xbox update here.

Microsoft xCloud cloud gaming beta expanding beyond Android; details

According to the announcement post, the beta version of xCloud is set to come on PC and iOS in the coming hours. As part of the expansion, the service will be available through the web browser. This means that anyone on iPhone, iPad, PC, (and even Xbox Series X/S with Chromium Edge) can use xCloud. Before this, xCloud was already available for Android users in select countries across the globe.

Like the general availability of xCloud, the PC and iOS expansion will be available in all 22 of the supported countries. This list includes Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Portugal. The list also includes Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States. The announcement also stated that this Beta launch of the service will be limited to a small set of users. So, users interested in gaming using xCloud will require an invite.

Microsoft noted that it will send invites to an increasing set of users with time. Besides the invites, the company will also add “support for more devices” with time. It plans on opening the service to all Game Pass Ultimate users “in the coming months”. Gamers need to head to www.xbox.com/play to access xCloud from the device of their choice. To game, players have the option to use a compatible game controller through USB or Bluetooth or the built-in touch controls.

Xbox gets a new update with improvements and a new feature

Now, let’s focus on the second announcement around Xbox which revolves around the new preview update. As noted above, the update adds a new audio pass-through feature so that Xbox can send the signal along to a receiver without any processing. This update also improves the available “Quick Resume” feature. As part of the improvements, the Guide on the console will show an indicator regarding the “Quick Resume” support on games along. Microsoft has also added a new group for all the Quick Resume-supported games in the user interface. Finally, the preview update also brings several fixes in localization and more.