Xbox Cloud Gaming Poised for Upcoming Bitrate Improvements and New Features

Earlier this month, The Verge’s Tom Warren heralded that Microsoft is working on an option to stream your own games through Xbox Cloud Gaming next year. Back in June, Warren…

By Hardik Dhamija

October 18, 2024

2 min read

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Earlier this month, The Verge’s Tom Warren heralded that Microsoft is working on an option to stream your own games through Xbox Cloud Gaming next year. Back in June, Warren opened up about Microsoft’s strategy with Xbox Cloud Gaming.

More About the Xbox Cloud Gaming

The cloud streaming service, formerly known as Project XCloud has been behind its competitors in terms of latency and quality. In contrast, NVIDIA GeForce NOW has supported 4K ever since launch, and Boosteroid has recently followed suit, Xbox Cloud Gaming remains limited to 1080p resolution and low bitrates, resulting in significantly poorer visuals.

Warren also stated the bitrates will be increased soon to provide better clarity. It is nevertheless interesting that he talks about increasing resolution, which could suggest cloud gaming will be limited to 1080p for a considerable time. He added that other potential latency reductions would be tied to server hardware upgrades, which he indicated are unlikely any time soon.

In addition, Warren touched on two upcoming left-field features that were leaked by Better XCloud developer an open-source app to improve the Xcloud experience over a device, respectively. Xbox Together covers, using a browser: the ability to play games and hang out with friends in an Xbox environment.

The second uses a direct-to-cloud controller intended for latency-minimized design, akin to the Google Stadia. Xbox Together, however, seems less likely to ship officially even though it is still being seen in internal testing, Warren says its more of a “hackathon project.” A direct-to-cloud controller is also in the works, which might be released at a later date.

Warren also thinks Microsoft is doing “a great job with Xbox Cloud Gaming and making it available on more platforms in order to take that expertise beyond only consoles and PC. Earlier this week, they announced that titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, and Call of Duty: Warzone will be available for cloud streaming to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.