Microsoft says xCloud game streaming for console and PC is on the to-do list

Earlier this year, Microsoft added Project xCloud gaming streaming to Xbox Game Pass. That roll out came after a long alpha testing period, but even though game streaming is part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate package, it's only available on Android devices. Given Apple's rules regarding App Store distribution, it's safe to say that game streaming won't be coming to iOS anytime soon, but what about other platforms like Xbox One and PC?

It's a good question, because Microsoft has talked about platform-agnostic game streaming plenty of times in the past. As it turns out, this current focus on Android doesn't necessarily mean that mobile streaming is going to be the only option from here on out. In fact, in a new tweet, Xbox chief Phil Spencer says that streaming to Xbox and PC is something that Microsoft wants to pursue in the future.

Yes, we want to do this. It's in the long list of cool things the xCloud team is working on, just a bit further down the list. But we want console and PC players to be able to browse as easily as mobile players, it's a good gamepass feature.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) October 7, 2020

"Yes, we want to do this," Spencer said in reply to another poster who asked if streaming to consoles and PC could happen at some point. "It's in the long list of cool things the xCloud team is working on, just a bit further down the list. But we want console and PC players to be able to browse as easily as mobile players, it's a good gamepass feature."

Specifically, the user Spencer was replying to referenced a tweet from Ben Gilbert that suggested game streaming on consoles and PCs could be a good way to allow players to demo games before downloading them through Game Pass. On PC, game streaming could be particularly useful, because while there are a lot of PC gamers out there, there are many more people who own a computer that isn't necessarily equipped to run console-quality games. It's also worth remembering that Stadia – Microsoft's chief competitor in the game streaming space – allows streaming to PCs and TVs by way of Chrome and Chromecasts, respectively.

We'll see what happens from here, but at some point in the future, we could very well see the game streaming component of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate come to consoles and PC. For now, though, game streaming through the service remains the sole domain of Android users.