Xbox is preparing to release Series X server blades for cloud gaming

Xbox is preparing to release Series X server blades for cloud gaming. Load times and frame rates have significantly improved for players.

Image: Xbox

According to reports, Microsoft is preparing to release Xbox Series X server blades for Xbox cloud gaming. Several gamers have reported that Xbox Series X server blades are now available for various titles, resulting in a significant performance gain. 

Microsoft has announced intentions to switch to Xbox Series X hardware in the near future for Xbox's cloud gaming service, which was launched with Xbox One S devices in server blades. 

Kareem Choudhry, Microsoft's president of cloud gaming, stated earlier this month, "We're now in the last stages of internal testing, and we'll be enhancing the experience for [Xbox Game Pass] Ultimate subscribers in the coming few weeks."

Whereas Microsoft has yet to make an official announcement regarding the availability of Xbox Series X server blades for cloud gaming, several users have reported significant increases in load times and frame rates. 

it looks like xCloud just got the Xbox Series X hardware upgrade for certain games. Yakuza, Rainbow Six Siege, and others are showing 120fps or gfx options, and are loading faster pic.twitter.com/BUU866V0BF

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 22, 2021

Microsoft is releasing Xbox Cloud Gaming through the browser for all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers in the coming weeks, in addition to the server enhancements. The service is presently in an invite-only testing phase, but with the expansion, all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users will be able to use xCloud streaming on iPhones, iPads, and any other device with a supported browser (Chrome, Edge, and Safari).. 

Later this year, Microsoft will bring cloud gaming to Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan, as well as hinting at additional Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. Liz Hamren, Microsoft's president of gaming experiences and platforms, says, "We need to innovate to deliver our games and services to more people across the world, and we're researching how to create additional subscription offers for Xbox Game Pass."

These new Xbox Game Pass memberships will almost certainly feature xCloud game streaming. Xbox game streaming is presently only available to individuals who subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier, which costs $14.99 per month. It's easy to envision a future when Microsoft offers a distinct Game Pass subscription for Xbox Cloud Gaming alone (xCloud).

What is the web accessibility of Xbox cloud gaming?

Cloud gaming differs from Microsoft's other service, remote play, in that you're effectively playing on a distant Xbox (reportedly an Xbox Series S) on Microsoft's cloud. Given that Microsoft also provides a Game Pass subscription for PC, this is significant. The distinction is that Xbox cloud gaming allows you to play games that are prepared for the Xbox on a distant server; Microsoft does not currently allow you to play games that are designed for the PC on a remote server. Many games simply do not employ large enough fonts to make them playable on a phone, therefore they are considerably simpler to play and navigate on a large PC monitor or laptop display. 

While Microsoft has urged beta testers to play the Xbox cloud gaming beta on its own Surface devices, I discovered that I didn't need to. It ran smoothly on an HP Envy 14 laptop, which, to be fair, has a discrete GPU. The service, on the other hand, didn't require a separate GPU because it was entirely cloud-based. I used Bluetooth to connect an older Xbox One controller and began playing games.

The Xbox cloud experience starts with a selection of available games, many of which are touch-enabled. (Even on a touch-enabled laptop, that component didn't seem to operate.) When you select one, you'll be sent to a launch screen where Microsoft will set up your game. You'll get the hang of it. Some activities need you to use your mouse, while others demand you to use your controller.

So I'm not going to need an Xbox?

Image: Xbox

No. If you pay for the subscription, you can play Xbox games on a PC or an Android phone without ever purchasing an Xbox. The streaming feature is not available in the PC-only edition of Game Pass.

For a long time, Microsoft has allowed PC users to play Xbox games. Although the newest Gears of War game was formerly an Xbox exclusive, it was now accessible on Windows PCs.

According to several game writers, Microsoft doesn't care if gamers buy its new Xbox system as long as they play the games.

Many people believe that cloud streaming is the way of the future for video games, but it has always been constrained by the requirement for high internet connections and sophisticated hardware.

Several businesses have experimented with it in recent years, including Google with Stadia, Sony with PlayStation Now, and graphics hardware company Nvidia with GeForce Now. It appears that the moment has arrived for it. 

Xbox is a well-known gaming brand, and its effort to stream to mobile devices rather of only desktop PCs might help to realize the promise of play-anywhere gaming.

Its success may be contingent on how well that works.

H/S: BBC , TheVerge , Xbox