cloud gaming
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Microsoft xCloud will offer over 150 Xbox games when it goes live tomorrow
Microsoft previously said 100-plus titles would be available on day one.
Huge video game companies are exposing Apple's iOS hypocrisy
Epic, xCloud and Congress are setting the stage for change on the App Store.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can try xCloud in beta today
Ahead of the September 15th launch, Microsoft is releasing its game streaming service xCloud for Android in beta today at 9AM. Right now it’s only available in preview form for Xbox Insiders, but today, any Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to access the beta version of the Android app from Google’s Play Store.
Apple: iOS games need individual review, which blocks cloud gaming apps
Apple claims its App Store policies prohibit cloud gaming services like xCloud, Stadia or GeForce Now because each game needs to be reviewed individually.
Microsoft’s xCloud delayed on iOS as testing halted
Microsoft starting testing its Project xCloud game streaming service on iOS with some fanfare, but the future of the project is now unclear. While Microsoft is preparing to launch the Android version, it has ended its public trial on iOS early, with the app no longer available.
Chromebook users get three free months of Stadia Pro
Google is offering a three-month trial of Stadia Pro to Chromebook owners in a bid to grow its cloud gaming service.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will include xCloud streaming in September
In a blog post, Xbox chief Phil Spencer explained that xCloud will be available “at no additional cost” for Game Pass Ultimate members. If you need a refresher, Ultimate is the premium tier that includes both the console and PC version of Game Pass — which have slightly different libraries — and Xbox Live Gold, the subscription service that’s required to play console titles online.
Google ‘experiments’ with Stadia access on more Android phones
If your Android phone can access Google's Stadia app, you can try playing its cloud gaming service.
Google is working on 4K/HDR streaming to Android TV for Stadia
Recent updates to the Stadia Android app show Google is working on some new features: sharing game captures as a link, 4K/HDR-quality playback on Android TV and a built-in messenger.
Stadia Pro is free for two months starting today
It took a while but Stadia's free tier is now available, though not quite like how we expected.
Project xCloud adds a few EA titles including 'The Sims 4'
Microsoft is adding a few EA games to the Project xCloud game streaming preview: 'Dragon Age: Inquisition,' 'Unravel Two' and 'The Sims 4.'
Google's latest Stadia game studio will be run by a 'God of War' veteran
Google is opening another Stadia studio to create originals for its game streaming service, and it's once again tapping big-name talent to boost its chances of success. The company is adding a team in Playa Vista, California that will be run by Shannon Studstill, the former head of God of War developer SIE Santa Monica Studio -- not far away, we'd add.
Google may add free trials and YouTube streaming to Stadia soon
At this point, it's safe to say Google's Stadia streaming service hasn't had the smoothest launch. Between missing features and less than stellar performance, the platform is, at the moment, more about future promise than current potential. However, it appears at least some of the features Google talked about at launch may soon make their way to Stadia users. Digging into the code of the latest Stadia app update, 9to5Google found evidence Google could add free Stadia Pro trials and other features soon.
Google is disappointing the Stadia community
"This is fine." Andrey Doronichev is in charge of gamer experience at Stadia, Google's fledgling cloud-gaming service. In a conversation with him about the company's confidence in Stadia three months post-launch, Doronichev was unflappable. Though players have been complaining about a lack of updates, technical issues, missing features and a dearth of new games, Doronichev argued the service was still new and Google had actually grown it significantly since launch. Besides, he said, it's not about the daily experience in the early days. It's about the end goal -- the 8K, lag-free, game-streaming utopia that Google promised when it debuted Stadia.
Google is bringing Stadia to 18 new phones, including the Galaxy S20
Google's cloud gaming service, Stadia, has been exclusive to Pixel phones since its launch three months ago, but that's changing this week. On February 20th, Stadia will hit 14 Samsung models, plus the Asus ROG Phone, ROG Phone II, Razer Phone and Razer Phone II. The supported Samsung devices are (deep breath) as follows: S8, S8+, S8 Active, Note 8, S9, S9+, Note 9, S10, S10+, Note 10, Note 10+, S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra.
We're all kinda fine with DRM now
Digital Rights Management. The phrase alone, or just its abbreviation, DRM, once had the power to spark scathing editorials and spawn furious debates in online forums worldwide. In the 2000s, major PC video game publishers began adding software to their discs that limited the number of times these games could be installed, tracking and verifying players in new, conspicuous ways. Variations of this system persisted throughout the early 2010s, when Microsoft attempted to release the Xbox One with built-in DRM checks. The response from fans was so vicious that Microsoft abandoned its strategy and rebuilt the Xbox One without DRM just months before its launch date. Fast forward to February 2020. NVIDIA launched GeForce Now, the first and only cloud gaming platform to operate on a "DRM-free" basis. When you buy a game via GeForce Now, you get to keep it, regardless of whether the service itself remains live -- a promise that its competitors, Google Stadia and Microsoft's xCloud, can't make. Yet, no one seems to care.
Activision Blizzard pulls its games from GeForce Now
GeForce Now, NVIDIA's game streaming service, went live for everyone last week. It allows you to play hundreds of games from dozens of publishers in the cloud, but Activision Blizzard's titles are no longer among the options after the publisher asked NVIDIA to remove its titles from the service. "While unfortunate, we hope to work together with Activision Blizzard to reenable these games and more in the future," an NVIDIA staff member wrote on the GeForce Now forums.
GeForce Now goes live for all users today
GeForce Now has arrived. After seven years of tweaking its delivery systems and gathering beta feedback, NVIDIA has finally unveiled the consumer version of its game-streaming ecosystem. GeForce Now streams games of all sizes to PC, Mac, Android and the NVIDIA Shield, and it works with players' existing libraries on Steam, the Epic Games Store and all other digital platforms. Games are capped at 1080p and 60 FPS.
Stadia Pro's free January games are 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' and 'Thumper'
Google is bolstering Stadia Pro's 'free' game lineup once more, although you might not be quite so thrilled with the consequences. The game streaming service is adding both the adventure sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider and the rhythm title Thumper to its no-extra-charge selection as of January 1st. However, Google is also taking away Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition on December 31st at 12PM Eastern. It'll still be available to play after that date if you claim it in time, but you'll have to miss out on the start of Lara's journey if you sign up in 2020.
Google buys Typhoon Studios to beef up Stadia's game library
Google is quickly bolstering its in-house work on Stadia games. The internet giant has acquired Typhoon Studios, an indie created by industry veterans (including from Batman: Arkham City and Far Cry 4) that's close to releasing its first game, Journey to the Savage Planet. The team will join the existing Stadia Games and Entertainment Studio in Montreal, but don't worry -- Journey is still on track to reach multiple platforms on January 28th.
