Latest news with #GamePassUltimate
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Seismic Xbox Game Pass upgrade could change the way you game forever
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Quick Summary Xbox Cloud Gaming could soon receive a number of key enhancements to make it a much better service. There are also suggestions that it could be available outside of an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription too. Microsoft is reportedly working on several big upgrades to its Xbox Cloud Gaming service to make it run closer to playing games on local hardware. And that could include a bump in resolution and frame rates. Currently part of an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, Xbox Cloud Gaming offers 100s of games that players can stream over a data connection to multiple devices. This includes phones, tablets, Smart TVs from Samsung and LG, and even Amazon Fire TV Sticks. As long as you have an Xbox controller or Bluetooth equivalent, you can play a whole host of big name games, as well as many you might not have heard of before. Some even come with touchscreen controls, for playing on an iPhone, iPad or Android device without a dedicated gamepad. Day one releases are available on the service too, even the likes of the recently released Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 +4, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. While subscribers can also play many of their own purchased Xbox games through the cloud. In fact, it's a well-rounded, extremely accessible service that works well as an accompaniment to conventional console and PC gaming. It just isn't quite ready to replace them. That's where the upgrades come in. Renowned Xbox expert Jez Corden of Windows Central believes that Microsoft is currently working on next-gen technologies and features for Xbox Cloud Gaming to make it a more attractive rival to traditional gaming platforms. A reduction in latency He suggests that a further reduction in latency is key, with measures being taken to eliminate the lag between controller motion or button press and the action being shown on screen. One of those is to release a new Xbox Wireless Controller that connects directly to the a home network when playing cloud games, rather than needing to send control codes to a device, which are then sent on to a remote server. By cutting out the middle-man, so to speak, it'll help reduce latency. This is something Google attempted with its failed Stadia service, and Amazon achieves with its Luna gamepad. In addition, Corden claims that Microsoft is considering switching the hosted games to PC versions rather than Xbox. This could enable the games to be more scaleable in terms of settings, while servers could be faster and less hamstrung by console technology. When it comes to console exclusives, they could run through emulation. It could also allow the service to offer higher resolutions and frame rates. Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently locked to 1080p at up to 60 frames per second, whereas Nvidia's major rival, GeForce Now, offers an Ultimate tier with up to 4K and 240fps streaming (albeit not at the same time). This would be dependent on users' own network connections and an increase in bit rates, but it's doable – as Nvidia has proved. Xbox Cloud Gaming subscription The other route that Corden suggests Microsoft could go in is to launch new, cloud only payment plans. You can currently only subscribe to Xbox Cloud Gaming through Game Pass Ultimate, which doesn't really make much sense if all you want is to play games on a Fire TV Stick. In that case, you don't need a library of games to download onto an Xbox Series X/S or PC, nor many of the other benefits membership adds. GeForce Now has three tiers – Free, Performance, and Ultimate – with different levels of streaming quality and priority access. Microsoft could adopt similar in the future. Xbox Cloud Gaming is still just in public beta mode at present – it has been since launch – so enhancements and upgrades could come with a push to a final release model. Certainly, with non-gaming manufacturers like LG and Samsung adding the service to their TVs, there's a market for more casual gamers to enjoy the latest and greatest without needing dedicated hardware. Maybe if the changes are as seismic as hoped, some of the more dyed-in-the-wool gamers will consider it too.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Grounded 2 and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers lead the charge of new Xbox Game Pass titles
Microsoft has finally unveiled all the games that will come to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service across PC, console, and cloud throughout the rest of July. Between now and August 1, we can expect nine different games to be added to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate catalog. It's shaping up to be a solid second half of the month for the service, as many games are launching on Game Pass the same day as their release on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Additionally, three games will be leaving the service this month. The first-party headliner of that bunch is Grounded 2. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, it's a survival game where players control shrunk-down kids trying to survive in a public park, fighting and even taming bugs along the way. It's technically in Game Preview, which is what Xbox calls early access, but it's available from day one to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, like all first-party Xbox games. Games coming to Xbox Game Pass in July Grounded 2, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, and more While some enjoyable older games, such as High on Life and RoboCop: Rogue City, are coming to the service, this month is truly defined by its day-one additions that will be available to the subscribers of Games Pass' most expensive Ultimate tier. In addition to Grounded 2, the Soulslike Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, cycling game Wheel World, and cooperative survival game Abiotic Factor will all be added to Game Pass the same day they become available on consoles. You can see the full list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate soon below, noting the day on which it'll be added to the catalog. High On Life - July 15 RoboCop: Rogue City - July 17 My Friendly Neighborhood - July 17 Back to the Dawn - July 18 Abiotic Factor - July 22 Wheel World - July 23 Wuchang: Fallen Feathers - July 24 Grounded 2 - July 29 Farming Simulator 25 - August 1 Games leaving Xbox Game Pass in July Say goodbye to Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess and more Every fifteen days or so, several games leave Xbox Game Pass as the deals keeping them on the service expire. Today, the following six games are leaving the service: Flock Mafia: Definitive Edition Magical Delicacy Tchia The Callisto Protocol The Case of the Golden Idol On July 31, three more games will be removed from the service. Those games are competitive shooter Gigantic: Rampage Edition, Capcom's underrated action-strategy game Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, and comedic indie game Turnip Boy Robs a Bank. While those losses are unfortunate, it has otherwise been a really solid month of new additions to Xbox Game Pass. Xbox Microsoft Corporation ENTERTAINMENT Price: Free 4.5 Download
Tom's Guide
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
You can now stream select Xbox games you own to PC, no Xbox required—but there's a catch
You can now play select Xbox games you own on your PC by streaming them through the Xbox PC app—if you're an Xbox Insider with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription. This is a big deal because it includes some games which are not part of the Xbox Game Pass program, so it's the first time subscribers can stream these games via the Xbox PC app. And since you can also purchase games through the app, you don't even need to own an Xbox to buy and play these games. So in a sense, this is Xbox taking another step down the path towards being a console-agnostic game streaming service à la Nvidia's GeForce Now. Xbox Game Pass is already one of the best cloud gaming services around, and this new feature makes it just a little bit better. Of course, you currently have to sign up for the PC Gaming Preview portion of Microsoft's Xbox Insiders program to test it out. The news comes courtesy of an Xbox Wire blog post published yesterday (July 15) in which Microsoft's Anu Reddy explains that Xbox Insiders who have joined the PC Gaming Preview and also subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate ($20/month) can now stream some Xbox games they own via the PC app in the 28 countries (including Australia, the U.S. and the U.K.) where Xbox Cloud Gaming is available. It's basically an expanded version of the "stream your own game" feature Xbox introduced late last year, and since then the list of supported games has quintupled to over 250. The list of supported games is available to peruse on Xbox's website, and while it doesn't include many Xbox exclusives (no Blinx 2 or Lost Odyssey, for example) it does include Xbox 360 games like Saint's Row 2. And to be clear, you're not actually streaming anything from your Xbox when using this feature. The "stream your own game" branding can be misleading, because when you stream one of these games via the Xbox PC app you're actually streaming it via xCloud directly from Microsoft's servers, so your Xbox isn't necessary. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. This can be confusing because the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X also have a Remote Play feature that lets you stream games you own directly from your console to your PC, TV, smartphone, tablet or Meta Quest headset using your Xbox. None of this is hugely surprising since we've long known (thanks in part to reporting from The Verge ) that Microsoft is pushing to expand its game streaming capabilities as part of something internally branded Project Lapland. The company has been working to beef up its technical capabilities and get developers and publishers to sign off on allowing their games to be streamed remotely, which is presumably why the list of supported games has been steadily growing since last November. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Engadget
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Xbox's 'Stream your own game' feature now extends to PC
Xbox's "Stream your own game" feature continues to expand. You can now use your PC to play supported games you own on Xbox. (The games stream from the cloud, not your console.) You'll need to be an Xbox Insider and Game Pass Ultimate subscriber to use it. The PC launch follows the feature's arrival earlier this year on other devices. Already supported were Xbox consoles, TVs, browser-based devices (including mobile) and Meta Quest headsets. The idea is the latest chapter in Microsoft's mission to make Xbox software more device-agnostic. Hop on whatever device is available, and start playing without waiting for installations. That makes sense from a business perspective, given Sony's commanding lead in their two-way console race. It's increasingly more about selling Game Pass subscriptions than fighting a losing hardware battle. Microsoft lists over 250 supported games. Standouts include Baldur's Gate 3 , Star Wars Outlaws , Cyberpunk 2077 , Hogwarts Legacy , Balatro and a whole mess of Assassin's Creed entries. Microsoft says it will add more over time. The company says the collection includes some console-only titles. But you'll be hard-pressed to find many that aren't already available (natively) on PC. On the other hand, this method could free up storage and save you the hassle of downloading them. There are some caveats. You'll need to own digital copies of those you want to stream to your PC. (Physical copies won't cut it.) The feature is only available in the 28 countries where Xbox Cloud Gaming is supported. You'll also need a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which costs $20 per month. If you're interested, you'll first need to sign up for the Xbox Insider program, which is free.
The Verge
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Xbox tests letting you stream your own games on PC
Xbox is bringing its 'stream your own game' feature to PC. On Tuesday, the company announced that Xbox Insiders with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription can try streaming the Xbox games they own, including some that are available on console only, directly from the Xbox PC app. Xbox started letting Game Pass Ultimate subscribers stream games from their library to the Xbox Series X | S and Xbox One consoles earlier this year. Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can also stream games from their TVs and browsers on devices like smartphones, PCs, tablets, and Meta Quest headsets. Bringing the feature to PC is especially helpful, as it will help users conserve storage when playing games with massive file sizes like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which requires 128GB of free SSD space. Xbox currently lets users stream more than 250 games from their libraries, in addition to the ones they get through Game Pass. The company says it plans on adding more console-only games and Play Anywhere titles to its list in the future.
