Microsoft Project xCloud: will it become the Netflix for games?

Microsoft is on course to steal headlines at the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, which kicks off in just under two weeks’ time.

Not only is the tech giant expected to take the wraps off its next-generation Xbox games console, but recent rumours suggest that the company also plans to reveal more about its new Project xCloud service.

Nicknamed the “Netflix for games” by Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, the service will allow gamers to play the latest titles on any device, whether it’s a popular desktop computer or smartphone, Business Insider reports.

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While the idea sounds simple on paper, the tech giant faces a number of hurdles before the service gets off the ground. These include transmitting vast quantities of data to users with poor internet connections and mobile networks.

We’ll have to wait until E3, which runs from 11 to 14 June, to see whether Microsoft’s service will become the next craze in the gaming world. In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about the Project xCloud:

What is Project xCloud?

Simply put, Project xCloud is a service that allows members to stream video games over the internet for a monthly fee.

The service was announced at E3 last June. In October, Microsoft confirmed some of the Project xCloud’s key features, says the tech news site AndroidAuthority. Among the features confirmed was the ability to stream console games, such as Forza Horizon 4 and Halo 5, on a smartphone through a mobile network connection.

Microsoft will uses its Azure cloud computing hardware and software to power the service, the website says. This means that gamers could tap into ultra-powerful computers and a games library consisting of thousands of titles from a host of devices with an internet connection.

As the games would be powered by the cloud rather than a conventional gaming system, gamers would be able to stream titles in a high-quality video format on devices that typically aren’t powerful enough to run console titles, such as laptops and tablets.

Could it really become the Netflix for games?

It’s certainly a possibility.

Project xCloud already has a gigantic library of titles for gamers to choose from. According to TechRadar, Microsoft employees are testing prototype versions of the service with libraries that contain as many as 3,500 titles from across the Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One catalogue.

There’s even talk of 1,900 extra games being added to the service so it’s unlikely players will struggle to find a new title to sink their teeth into, says the tech site.

One of the biggest challenges the company faces, however, is the ability to transmit vast quantities of data over the internet.

Unlike movies, which can be easily compressed over the internet, computer games are often tens of gigabytes in size. This makes them difficult to stream on weaker internet connections and mobile networks.

Microsoft does, however, have 54 Azure data centres that provide coverage to 140 countries, says the Microsoft news site WindowsCentral. Players in Asia, for example, would be able to stream titles from their local data centre, as opposed to having to rely on one in the US. This should deliver a smoother gaming experience.

What about the competition?

The idea of a Netflix-style service for computer games is certainly new to the industry, but Microsoft isn’t the only tech giant pursuing the idea of a video game streaming service.

Google, for example, announced a new Stadia service at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco in March. Much like Project xCloud, Stadia will allow players to stream video games over the internet to almost any device in exchange for a monthly fee.

But Nadella believes that Microsoft is ahead of the curve thanks to its experience in the games industry through its Xbox programme.

“We have a huge back catalog, which is: we have our own games”, he told Business Insider in a reference to Microsoft-owned titles such as the Forza and Halo franchises.

Both of these services are still in their infancy. We won’t yet know how they will compare until prices have been announced. Nor will we know how they will perform until they’re available to the public.

For now, Microsoft appears to be leading the way in delivering the world’s first “Netflix for games”.