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Summary
- Xbox Insiders can now stream Xbox games to their PCs via cloud, bypassing the need for local installations.
- The list of supported games includes major titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, and Baldur’s Gate 3.
- This cloud gaming service is currently limited to Xbox Insiders, requiring an active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
For a while now, your couch has not been the only place to play your Xbox games, thanks to the magic of streaming. If you’d rather play them on your PC, though, that surprisingly has not been an option. Until now, at least.
Microsoft is testing out the ability for folks to play their Xbox games from the comfort of their own PC desk. Now, Xbox Insiders can play titles from their existing Xbox library via the cloud, eliminating the need for local installations on the target device. This means a game purchased for an Xbox console can now be streamed and played on a Windows PC without downloading the full game client. Before its arrival on PC, the capability was already supported on a range of devices, including Xbox consoles themselves (allowing for instant play without installation), smart TVs, web browsers on mobile devices, and Meta Quest virtual reality headsets. Somehow, PCs weren’t in this list, despite Microsoft seemingly doubling down on the Xbox brand on PC in recent months. Now, though, it’s a possibility.
The library that’s supported on PC includes major third-party releases such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Hogwarts Legacy, Cyberpunk 2077, and the upcoming Star Wars Outlaws. The company has stated that it will continue to add more games to the supported list over time. A lot of these games are already available to play on PC without having to stream into a console, but there are still some console-only titles you can now check out here via streaming, which is neat.
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New to Gaming? Here’s Why You Should Start with Xbox Cloud Gaming
For all the grief it gets, this cloud gaming service could be a real money-saver for new players.
To use this, you must own a digital copy of the game; physical disc-based games are not compatible with the streaming feature. Participation is currently limited to the Xbox Insider program, which is free to join, though some people might still want to wait for this capability to roll out widely—which should happen eventually. And as you might expect, you need an active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which is priced at $20 per month. The service is geographically restricted to the 28 countries where Xbox Cloud Gaming is officially supported.
It’s surprising to see that PCs couldn’t stream Xbox games until now, especially considering the wide variety of devices where Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently supported. But it’s never too late to rectify.
If you’re an Xbox Insider, you can check out cloud streaming on your PC now. Everyone else will need to wait until the wider rollout, which will probably happen anytime within the next few weeks or months.
