xCloud is Coming to PC and iOS Next Spring

Microsoft has announced on the Xbox Wire blog that their xCloud game streaming service will be coming to PC and iOS in Spring 2021. On PC, xCloud will be available through the Xbox app, whereas on iOS it will be available through the platform’s web browser. This follows a tumultuous period where the service couldn’t be put on the iOS App Store due to Apple’s store policies.

According to Microsoft, the addition of PC and iOS for xCloud will add “over a billion devices” that people can use to get into the Xbox ecosystem. The xCloud beta is also going to be available in more regions around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico. With xCloud coming to more devices and countries than before, the service is sure to see a surge in users over the next year. This is especially exciting when you remember that Microsoft will be releasing new titles such as Psychonauts 2 and Halo Infinite next year, both of which will launch on Xbox Game Pass and be able to be streamed through xCloud.

There are two other key spaces that are missing xCloud. Microsoft’s own consoles currently do not support xCloud, but one can only imagine that they plan to bring xCloud to consoles at some point in the future. Doing so would make the company’s Game Pass Ultimate subscription service even more enticing, as it would allow players to stream the Game Pass library to their console and allow them to save their precious storage space for the games that they intend to play over a longer period of time. There’s also the TV space, an area that Phil Spencer has hinted at possibly targeting through either a streaming stick type of device or a dedicated TV app. No matter what they do, one thing’s for certain. Microsoft is going all in on xCloud, and next year is just the start of it all.