Xfinity Games lets you stream mobile titles to your Comcast X1 cable box

By Kyle Wiggers July 14, 2015

xfinity games announcement xfinitygames rr2 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Comcast’s plans to stream games to cable subscribers have finally come to fruition. Today, the cable giant announced Xfinity Games, a partnership with video game publisher Electronic Arts that’ll see a selection of titles — 23 to start — streamed to owners of Comcast’s X1 set-top box.

Xfinity Games’ requirements are fairly light. Comcast says you’ll need a high-speed data connection (the company didn’t lay out exact details, unfortunately) and, if you want to save your in-game progress, an active EA Origin account. Assuming you check both of those boxes, you can sign up to participate in the free public beta via xfinitygames.com. Comcast says invites will go out “within the next few days.”

It’s clear from the launch library that Xfinity Games is aimed at the casual gaming crowd — people who wouldn’t ordinarily pick up a controller, said vice president of market at EA Katrina Strafford. Most titles — Real Racing 2, Monopoly, Plants vs. Zombies, and Peggle Nights, among others — are already available on mobile, and controlled by a phone or tablet paired to X1.

“Casual gamers primarily play on mobile devices, and we saw this as an opportunity to bring them back to the TV set,” senior director of strategic development at Comcast Bryan Witkowski told GamesBeat. It’s a web-based setup: you point your device’s browser to a specified webpage, enter a unique seven-digit code, and launch games from the paired device. “We wanted to remove the friction,” Witkowski said. “There’s no new hardware. No visit to the retail store. And it works with X1.”

Ultimately, Comcast wants to make using Xfinity Games “as easy as switching between channels,” Comcast’s executive director of product Preston Smalley told The Verge. It won’t do so unfairly — the service won’t be given priority over traffic from competitors like PlayStation Now and NVIDIA Grid, Comcast says. The goal, rather, is to attract users organically through “intuitive” and “tailored” content. “We would like EA’s role in this to being [sic] a content provider, like HBO,” said Stafford.

Comcast says it’s committed to adding new games over time. It hasn’t finalized a business model for after the service exits beta.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…

Gaming

The best multiplayer games on the PS5

Diablo 4 promotional image of Lillith.

The PlayStation 3 certainly had its fair share of multiplayer games, but these kinds of games didn't hit their stride until the PlayStation 4. Thankfully, multiplayer games are once again at the forefront of the best games on PS5. Despite the system being relatively new, there are already a ton of games to try out -- whether via online or local multiplayer co-op games. Before picking up a new PS5, you might be wondering what kind of multiplayer games Sony's new system has to offer.

There are lots to choose from, but for this list, we've rounded up the very best multiplayer games available on the PS5 right now.

Gaming

How to get the most out of Honkai: Star Rail’s polarizing auto-battle system

Seele with red eyes using Ultimate with blue light

Honkai: Star Rail is full of great quality of life features, but auto-battle has the game's community divided. Rather than playing traditional turn-based RPG battles, auto=battle essentially does the work for players. Some fans love it because of how it helps them grind through daily resource runs or overcome early-game hurdles. Others, though, complain that it problematically automates what's supposed to be a main component of the gameplay.

So, is it worth using? Yes. For the most part, it’s a helpful tool -- when used properly. There are just a few exceptions that players should be wary about if they want to take advantage of the feature. Auto-battle works best in specific scenarios. Nine times out of 10, you're smarter than the AI. That's why so many people complain about dumb decisions it makes, like buffing a teammate that doesn’t need it or popping an Ultimate when a battle is nearly finished. At its core. auto-battle is meant to automate the most monotonous parts of the game and leave the most challenging (and frustrating) content for you to enjoy. If you're looking to experiment with it, here's how to use it to its fullest.
Making the most of auto-battle
Auto-battle offers a solution where you can blow through battles with the press of a button, so you don't have to stay engaged during the entire process. You can press the little double arrow icon in the top-right corner of your battle menu, surf the web in another tab, and check your game after a few minutes to find all your rewards waiting for you on the screen. I use auto-battle to fight waves of Calyxes, one of the challenges you can complete for experience books and level-up materials. It's a big ask for players to commit even 30 minutes a day to grinding through the same challenges.

Gaming

Best PS5 deals: Cheapest prices and all the PS5 bundles you can buy

A person plays Crash Bandicoot using a PS5 DualSense controller.

If you don't own the PlayStation 5 yet, or if you're planning to give it as a gift to a loved one, then you've come to the right place because we've rounded up the best PS5 deals. You can enjoy discounts not just on Sony's latest-generation video game console, but also on bundles that pair it with games and accessories. There's still a lot of demand for the PS5 though, so don't be surprised if these offers get sold out quickly. If you don't want to miss out, you'll have to decide on what to purchase from these bargains as soon as you can.
Refurbished PlayStation 5 Digital Edition -- $380, was $399

This is probably the cheapest price that you can pay for the PlayStation 5 -- getting a refurbished digital version of the console, which skips the disc drive and relies on online downloads. It's not brand new, but it's guaranteed to be in fine working condition so you'll be able to play the best PS5 games after installing them from the PlayStation Store or through a PlayStation Plus subscription.