Microsoft has just launched its own cloud service, xCloud, which aims to stream next-generation video games to any compatible device, from consoles to mobile devices to PCs and televisions: all the power in the cloud that allows users to play powerful titles on any device connected to the network.
“Scaling and building the xCloud project has been a long journey for us,” says Kareem Choudhry, Head of Cloud Gaming. “We will begin 2019 with public testing to learn and scale with different volumes and locations.
From Microsoft’s side, they claim to have adopted the hardware of their dedicated servers to improve this gaming experience. 54 Azure servers spread around the world will be responsible for providing the service to the millions of players who participate. On these servers, Azure has mounted Microsoft custom hardware consisting of internal parts of Xbox One stacked in series to offer the game in the cloud.
Microsoft has already successfully tested the service by connecting a wireless Xbox driver to the above devices. Perhaps the biggest handicap of these services today is the latency of these types of games, but for that, it is a system in testing. In fact, according to Microsoft, its xCloud engineers are looking for ways to combat latency through advanced networking techniques combined with video encoding and decoding that will allow games to be transmitted over even 4G networks, making the mobile phone a cornerstone of this project.
The test of the xCloud project will be open to the public in 2019 at various locations around the world. The goal is to scale the service simultaneously, both for users and for developers who adapt their video games to the service. Developers will receive the software tools to update their games and make them compatible with the xCloud project.