Microsoft’s cloud gaming service coming to iOS and PC in spring 2021

By Giovanni Colantonio December 9, 2020

Microsoft has announced plans to expand its cloud gaming service, formerly known as Project xCloud, to more devices in 2021. The service will be available on PC and iOS this spring.

The company outlined its plans in a blog post that explains how integration with new devices will work. For the iPhone and iPad, users will need to use a mobile web browser to access cloud gaming. That’s likely a workaround designed to deal with Apple’s restrictions against all-in-one services like Stadia.

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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to access cloud gaming on Windows PC through the Xbox app. Both the iOS and PC updates are slated for a spring 2021 release.

As part of the changes, cloud gaming will expand to more markets next year. Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico are among the locations getting full cloud gaming access in 2021. Limited testing recently began in those markets.

In addition to the cloud streaming updates, the blog post lists a batch of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in 2021. It includes Psychonauts 2, Skatebird, and Halo Infinite, which is now slated for a fall 2021 release following its indefinite delay from the Xbox Series X launch day.

The announcement highlights some recent statistics for the company coming off its new console launches. Microsoft says that over 1.6 million next-gen game upgrades were delivered with its Smart Delivery feature.

The company says it has more surprises in store, teasing that it will make announcements during tomorrow’s Game Awards broadcast. Make sure to check our guide on how to tune in so you don’t miss the show.

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

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With this acquisition, Microsoft will now own all the developers under the Activision Blizzard company. That includes the teams at Activision Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment, and King, the latter of which is the developer behind the wildly popular mobile series Candy Crush. The acquisition encompasses the following subsidiaries as well: Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, High Moon Studios, Beenox, Toys for Bob, Activision Shanghai Studio, Solid State Studios, Demonware, Digital Legends, and Major League Gaming. Microsoft now also owns the rights to all of the games and IP Activision Blizzard previously released.

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