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Xbox Game Pass xCloud streaming to get 1080p, Windows support

By Ewdison Then/

Although it is far from conceding defeat, some have considered the shuttering of Stadia's first-party game development studio as a moment of weakness. Naturally, its competitors in that still young market are taking the opportunity to show their strength. NVIDIA finally published its long list of GeForce NOW supported titles and Amazon Luna has gone invite-free on Fire TV devices. Microsoft's Project xCloud, now formally Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Cloud Gaming Streaming Service, is also stepping up with a few developments coming to subscribers soon.

To some extent, xCloud is catching up to the likes of Stadia and GeForce NOW in supporting 1080p resolutions. Microsoft's game streaming service has so far capped at 720p to be more efficient on bandwidth and performance. Unfortunately, that also means games aren't being enjoyed in their most respectable medium settings, which makes for a less than desirable experience.

According to Windows Central's source, Xbox is already testing that much-needed 1080p upgrade. This may be thanks to Microsoft switching xCloud's platform from the Xbox One to the more powerful Xbox Series X console. That's still to happen over the course of the year so it's no surprise it isn't available yet.

Another thing that's still coming is, ironically, xCloud support for Windows PCs. This version of the xCloud app brings support for touch screen controls and gyro sensors. Its most notable feature, however, is that it can also play games from Xbox consoles you might have at home, even if you're away. The app also works on ARM-based Windows computers, like Microsoft's own Surface Pro X.

This, of course, has long been in the works but, based on The Verge's report, there are still a lot of things that are broken or not yet fully functional. The year, however, is still early but Xbox hopefully won't take its sweet time until it misses the window of opportunity.

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