Skip to main content

Apple reportedly takes on Microsoft with its own ‘Netflix for games’

Project xCloud: Gaming with you at the center

Apple will reportedly be the next company to throw its hat into the “Netflix for games”  business, following in the footsteps of Sony, Microsoft, and Google.

According to Cheddar, Apple began discussing plans for a subscription-style game streaming service in the latter half of 2018 and had reached out to developers regarding potentially offering their titles on the service. The report said Apple has also talked about potentially being a game publisher. If Apple were publishing a game, this could hint at it being exclusive to the service. Apple is already familiar with publishing exclusive games, including Thatgamecompany’s Sky.

Related Videos

Thus far, there isn’t a set price structure for Apple’s service, which is apparently early enough in production that it could still be abandoned at some point.

The game streaming space is quickly filling up, with a number of companies already offering some sort of plan on the PC. Jump gives indie game fans the chance to play a selection of titles for $5 per month, and Google’s Project Stream lets you play games directly from your Chrome browser. During its technical test phase, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was available and though it lacked the fidelity of other versions, it played remarkably smoothly and didn’t demand any sort of expensive hardware.

Microsoft’s Project xCloud might be even more ambitious, with plans to players to enjoy games on everything from Xbox consoles to their mobile phones. On devices with touch screens, there will be special control schemes to make it easier to play, and they will also support traditional controllers. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has called it the “Netflix for games” internally and it builds on the on-demand approach the company also takes with Xbox Game Pass.

Even Amazon looks to be jumping into game streaming, but with several companies entering the same space, it seems likely that the market could be too fragmented. We’re seeing Netflix lose access to Disney’s properties as it plans its own streaming service and we can’t imagine players will want to subscribe to more than one or two of these, particularly if they’re still paying for Xbox Live or PlayStation Plus on top of it.

Editors' Recommendations

The best upcoming Xbox Series X games: 2023 and beyond
A spacecraft in Starfield.

The Xbox Series X and Series S have now been out for over two years, bringing better resolution, higher frame rates, and ray tracing to gamers around the world. The upcoming Xbox Series X games on this list promise to continue to show off all those bells and whistles in fun, new experiences.

If you're eager to find out what Microsoft has in store for the years ahead, we've rounded up every game confirmed so far, including new offerings, franchise installments, and ports of existing titles. We're looking beyond the first-party projects here to encompass all the great games coming to this powerful piece of gaming hardware.
2023

Read more
Everything we know about Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake Looking Grizzly In Alan Wake 2.

The original Alan Wake is a game that went through quite a troubled development before it was finally released. After many iterations and changes in scope and direction, the final product was initially a cult hit, but didn't hit the mass market it needed -- at least not initially. After two DLC episodes, a sequel was in the works to build upon the first game and revive some of the elements that had to be cut from the first in order for it to ship, but this was ultimately not meant to be. The sequel was canceled and a smaller downloadable game, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, was released instead.

Since then, we hadn't heard from our intrepid writer until he showed up in a very unlikely place. Featured in the AWE expansion for a completely different game, Control, Alan was back in the picture. With a remaster of the initial game catching everyone up on his first appearance, now was the perfect time to announce that the long-awaited sequel was back in development. We haven't found all the manuscript pages yet, but here is everything we know about Alan Wake 2.

Read more
The best Xbox Series X games for 2023
Two Spartans side by side in Halo Infinite.

After an uneven console cycle with the Xbox One, Microsoft's latest consoles are aimed at getting the ship back on course. The Xbox Series X is a next-generation powerhouse that rivals gaming PCs, while the Xbox Series S is an affordable stopgap for those who are curious about trying new games.

There's no shortage of games to play on either console thanks to Xbox Game Pass, which gives players immediate access to a library of titles old and new. That built-in catalog is an extra value on top of all the new games available on the system that take advantage of its impressive technical specs. When it comes to first-party exclusives, the Series X is still growing. Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 gave a good boost to the console's library following a somewhat sparse first year. More games are also on the way. Microsoft's Bethesda acquisition will bring exclusives like Starfield and Redfall, and the potential addition of all Activision Blizzard games would further bolster that list, but the console's real strength lies in third-party support.

Read more