Project xCloud has been officially confirmed to be releasing in September out of its current preview. The cloud streaming service based on Microsoft's Azure platform will be included in the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription tier, but that's just the beginning. As Microsoft's Head of Gaming Phil Spencer told The Verge, the availability of Project xCloud will be expanded over time both in terms of business models and platforms; while xCloud will debut on mobile devices, the ultimate goal is to be on 'every screen that someone can stream games to', featuring an accessible and smooth trial experience.
Over time we will continue to expand how we introduce streaming as part of the platform, and playing games that you own that aren’t part of the subscription. For launch, we’re putting it in Ultimate for no additional cost. We think it’s a good audience for us to start with, and it’s an audience that plays a lot of games.
We want to bring Project xCloud, eventually, to every screen that someone can stream games to. Right now we’re just saying mobile. There are discussions going on and we’re working through things. We’ll talk more specifically about which mobile devices through August and the September launch.
We want that trial to be as easy as it is in music and video today, where I can send you a track in Spotify today and you can stream it instantly. Over time, anywhere I see a game I should be able to give it a try.
Later in the interview, Spencer also confirmed that Project xCloud won't be the final name of the service, by the way.
This isn’t the official name, but you should think about it as Game Pass streaming or Xbox streaming, something like that. We actually don’t have the final name just yet, but it won’t be Project xCloud.
