xCloud launching in September and included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Microsoft will launch Project xCloud in September and the game steaming service will be available via its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

Priced at $14.99/£10.99, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate combines Xbox Live Gold membership with Xbox Game Pass for console and PC.

“This September, in supported countries, we’re bringing Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud together at no additional cost for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members”, Xbox boss Phil Spencer wrote in a blog published on Thursday.

“With cloud gaming in Game Pass Ultimate, you will be able to play over 100 Xbox Game Pass titles on your phone or tablet. And because Xbox Live connects across devices, you can play along with the nearly 100 million Xbox Live players around the world.

“So when Halo Infinite launches, you and your friends can play together and immerse yourselves in the Halo universe as Master Chief—anywhere you go and across devices.”

Microsoft is reportedly planning to upgrade its xCloud servers to Xbox Series X hardware in 2021.

The cloud gaming service will launch powered by Xbox One S consoles in server blades, but next year’s upgrade to Series X will provide a significant performance boost, according to The Verge.

This will reportedly include the ability to run four Xbox One S game sessions simultaneously and a video encoder that’s up to six times faster than the existing one.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in April that xCloud had hundreds of thousands of users in its current preview form.

At launch, xCloud is expected to let users stream Xbox games they already own from the cloud, as well as Xbox Game Pass titles.

Microsoft is also reportedly working on a feature that will also allow users to stream PC games across xCloud. In theory, it could let users stream PC games to their Xbox console and play them in the living room.

Further reading

Xbox Live nears 90 million users as Game Pass tops 10 million subscribers

Microsoft reveals “all-time record” quarterly engagement figures