OnLive expands cloud offerings with support for local games, MMOs

Cloud gaming pioneer OnLive may have faded from prominence, but two novel streaming initiatives may propel the company back into the spotlight.

Key to this resurgence is OnLive's Cloudlift, a service that allows players to stream games they own to devices that wouldn't normally support them. Cloudlift currently features support for only 20 games (including Saints Row 4 and Batman: Arkham City), but OnLive's announcement states that the service will expand over time. Best of all, Cloudlift has been designed to function with existing digital distribution services, meaning that subscribers should be able to stream games purchased on Steam, Origin or any other service to any OnLive-compatible device.

Part two of OnLive's announcement details OnLive Go, an attempt at using cloud technology to reduce the hassle of getting into more "complex" games, such as those found in the massively multiplayer online genre. By streaming game content directly to players on demand, OnLive Go removes the hassle of waiting for a game to install updates or simply load a new area. As an example, the announcement mentions Second Life Go, which sees fans of the Linden Labs sandbox MMO accessing the virtual world via Android tablet.

Full details on OnLive's new services as well as information on how to subscribe can be found at the OnLive website.

[Image: OnLive]