It has been a productive day for Xbox, with the announcement of a showcase at this year's Gamescom, and the start of the Cloud Gaming PC Beta. Following these developments, Xbox seemingly has another surprise in store, the long awaited return of Remote Play on PC.
Remote play has become a pretty popular feature in recent years across the gaming community. To be able to stream a game to another device without being tied down by one's console is a pretty handy innovation to come from previous console generations. The company has made much of its focus in allowing gamers to play how they would like, by giving them as many options as possible. In June, Xbox launched its Cloud Gaming service on the Series X/S, allowing players to play practically any game from their phone or tablet.
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Xbox engineering lead Eden Marie recently revealed on Twitter that remote play is coming back to PC. This is the first time non-cloud-based remote play has been enabled for the Series X/S, and is the return of the service for older consoles as well. All players must do is select the feature within the Xbox App on their PC, select their desired console from those they have linked, and start streaming away. Now Xbox is available on practically every platform (outside of competing consoles like Switch and PlayStation), as players can stream to their phones through Xbox Cloud Gaming as well.
Marie's announcement comes in tandem with an Xbox Wire post about the start of the Cloud Gaming Beta on PC. This service is currently exclusive to Xbox Insiders who also subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate. Jason Beaumont, Partner Director at Xbox, writes, "With Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can turn all types of PCs into a gaming device, from brand-new budget computers to older machines with low specs," indicating the transformative power of this service. Combine this with the ever growing list of Xbox Game Pass games and there is no reason for players to play what they want, how they want.
There is a fine distinction though, between Remote Play on PC and the Cloud Gaming Beta. Both services are indeed forms of remote play, but Remote Play on PC is specifically streaming a title from a user's console to their computer specifically, while Cloud Gaming, as the name implies, is all done in the Cloud and streamed to their computer. Whether someone is using the TV in the house, or they wanted to sneak in a couple rounds of Halo on a lunch break at work, any PC can now become an Xbox with both Remote Play and Cloud Gaming. If only PlayStation would upgrade its remote play offerings, then things could get interesting.
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Source: Xbox Wire
