Exclusive: First hands-on with xCloud Xbox game streaming for Windows 10 PC

Project xCloud is the codename of Microsoft’s cloud streaming game platform for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, letting you stream console-quality games to any device. The service is now available on Android, but is expected to come to iOS and PC in the future. And today, we’ve had our first-hands on session with Project xCloud streaming running on a Surface Pro X.

Project xCloud on PC looks and functions in almost the exact same way it does on Android, scaling easily to meet larger displays. The app we’ve been using is designed for internal testing, and it comes with all the same features from the Xbox Game Pass app on Android, including touch controls, which is ideal if you’re using a Surface device and you don’t have an Xbox controller handy or one of the clips from our best xCloud Xbox controller phone clips round up. Even if you have a capable PC, streaming console games to a PC also has some other small benefits, including less susceptibility to hackers and cheaters vs. online PC counterparts, and the ability to scale a window more easily without using some third-party software like the Borderless Gaming app on Steam.

The live footage was demonstrated by our Windows Editor Zac Bowden, who is using 200 MB standard internet from a domestic ISP. The controls were responsive and felt near-native, with very little artifacting in the video feed.

We expect Project xCloud will be baked directly into the new Windows 10 Xbox app eventually, similarly to how it’s baked into the Xbox Game Pass app on Android. It might look a little differently from how it’s presented in the video as a result, but the functionality will remain the same.

You can grab Xbox cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $15 per month, and it is guaranteed to include all of Microsoft’s own games day and date, as well as a wide variety of other games from third-parties like Sega, EA, and many more.