Microsoft uses servers with Xbox hardware for game streaming service

Microsoft has revealed the tentative name of its upcoming game streaming service: Project xCloud. The company is currently testing the service internally and has blade servers with Xbox One hardware in Azure data centers.

Microsoft has designed special blade servers that contain the components of four Xbox One consoles in a single housing. The blade servers support the infrastructure needed for game streams, and the first racks of blades are in data centers for Microsoft’s Azure platform worldwide.

Microsoft claims to have Project xCloud working and will conduct public testing next year. The company focuses on Xbox players. The service makes it possible to play Xbox One games on smartphones and tablets and in the video you can hear that it is at least Android. Not only new Xbox games should be streaming, but also already released games.

Users can connect an Xbox Wireless Controller via bluetooth for control. In addition, Microsoft is working on touch-sensitive controls. The current test runs at 10Mbit/s and Project xCloud will be able to offer streams over 4G, while Microsoft is also working on 5G support. Improvements to network topology and video encoding should prevent latency issues from occurring.

Microsoft confirmed it was working on a game streaming service last summer after years of rumors about it.