Microsoft on Wednesday announced that it is opening up its Project xCloud preview for iOS devices and the preview is already full. The preview was made available to 10,000 testers though Apple’s TestFlight programme. Ever since Microsoft launched the preview for Android phones, iOS users were eagerly anticipating its release on Apple’s mobile platform. Notably, the preview is only available in Canada, the UK, and the US.
Project xCloud is a video game streaming service that allows users to instantly stream PC and console games on a variety of devices. You don’t need to download the games that you want to play but instead, they will be streamed directly from Microsoft’s own servers.
There are some differences between the iOS and the previously released Android preview of Project xCloud. The iOS TestFlight preview, at this time, does not support Xbox Console Streaming (Preview). There is only one game for players to test out, which is ‘Halo: The Master Chief Collection’. Microsoft says this was because of Apple’s App Store policy.
The preview was made available through invitations that were sent out on first come first serve basis as the Windows maker had anticipated high demand. Microsoft also says that because there are limited spaces in the TestFlight programme, they might cycle through registrants for testing purposes. This means there might still be a chance for you to participate in the preview.
iOS users who want to test out Project xCloud will need to have a Microsoft account which is associated with their Xbox gamertag. The iOS device they are using should have iOS 13.0 as well as Bluetooth version 4.0. They will need an Xbox One Wireless Controller with Bluetooth. Microsoft recommends an internet connection with 10Mbps down bandwidth and also a 5GHz connection if using Wi-Fi.
Microsoft aims to gather feedback from the community to improve the service for iOS customers so it can bring a full preview to more users.