xCloud streaming is coming to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate today through an Android beta

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Update - August 11: Ahead of the September 15 launch of Project xCloud streaming on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the service is now available through a limited beta app for Android devices. 

Microsoft quietly released the app on the Google Play store today. As the store page explains, this is a public beta that anyone can join provided they have an active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It's missing most of the games (around 70 of the final 100) and some of the features that will be in the launch version, but it's a true-blue xCloud experience. The company offered more details in a statement to The Verge:

"Existing Xbox Game Pass (Beta) app users will get the opportunity to test a subset of the available titles as we ready the experience for broader availability next month. This limited beta is critical to providing the best possible experience for members at launch and should not be considered indicative of the final experience or library." 

Original story: 

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will include Project xCloud as part of the cloud gaming service's expanded beta program next month, Microsoft has confirmed in a new blog post published on the Xbox Wire today.

From September 15, across 22 countries in North America, Europe, and South Korea, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to use Project xCloud for over 100 titles from the Game Pass library, including Minecraft Dungeons, Destiny 2, Tell Me Why, Gears 5, Yakuza Kiwami 2, and more.

In addition, Microsoft has now committed to making sure every new Xbox Game Studio title will be available on Project xCloud from day one via Game Pass, which presumably includes the likes of Halo Infinite, Fable 4, and other upcoming Xbox Series X games

"Our vision for Project xCloud, Microsoft’s cloud gaming technology, is to give you the opportunity to play the games you want, with the people you want, anywhere you want," reads the blog post. "Cloud gaming as part of Xbox Game Pass is the next major step in our ongoing vision to put you at the center of the experience, to give you more value from your games and membership, and to remove the barriers from play."

In addition, Microsoft also announced partnerships with Razer, PowerA, 8BitDo, and NACON to release controllers designed specifically to enhance the mobile experience when playing a game via Project xCloud. You can check out the full list of officially sanctioned devices here.

Here's everything we know about the upcoming Xbox Series X pre-orders too, or watch the video below for a look at the next generation of Unreal Engine.

Austin Wood

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.