Microsoft: Xbox Cloud Gaming is mainly used on consoles

According to Microsoft, Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently mainly used as a console function and not necessarily as a separate service. Subscribers now mainly use the service to be able to play the game while downloading a Game Pass game, Microsoft says.

Xbox Cloud Gaming is available via the browser, a smartphone and desktop app, and via an app on some Samsung TVs. Still, the service is now mainly used on Xbox consoles, says Head of Xbox Devices Sarah Bond. Bond made her statements according to IGN in the lawsuit between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission over the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

When asked if she sees Xbox Cloud Gaming as a separate service, she replied that she now sees cloud gaming as a console feature. She also notes that console games that are streamed do not always work flawlessly on other devices. She may be referring to smartphone touchscreens or PCs without a controller.

The streaming service is part of Game Pass Ultimate, which costs 13 euros per month and combines the console and PC Game Pass subscription and includes Xbox Gold. Bond says that cloud gaming is not a popular feature compared to the other Ultimate features and that cloud gaming is still loss-making for Microsoft.

With the statements, Bond goes against the fears of the FTC and the British watchdog CMA. These regulators are afraid that Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard could have consequences for the ‘fast-growing’ cloud gaming market. The CMA in particular fears that the acquisition could disrupt competition in the cloud gaming market.