Xbox Cloud Gaming Now Reaches As Much As 1 BILLION People

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 30 September 2021, 11:09 am

Xbox Cloud Gaming's most recent expansions into several new countries now allows it to reach far more people than previously possible.

(Photo : ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
The Microsoft Xbox One logo is seen on the final day of the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo, in Los Angeles, California June 13, 2013. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK

By virtue of its expansion into Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and Japan, Xbox Cloud Gaming can now technically reach as much as 1 billion people, reports GameSpot. This is according to Microsoft themselves, who posted about the milestone on the Xbox Wire Twitter account:

With the expansion of Xbox Cloud Gaming to gamers in Australia, Brazil, Japan and Mexico, over one billion people in 26 countries can now play Xbox Game Pass games from the cloud on their phones, tablets and PCs. Learn more: https://t.co/3PoPLQP1Rc
— Xbox Wire (@XboxWire) September 30, 2021

The announcement was made as part of Microsoft's most recent Tokyo Game Show event.

According to Microsoft, subscribers in the aforementioned countries can have access to over 100 Xbox Game Pass titles offered via the cloud, allowing them to stream the games to PCs, phones, or even some Xbox consoles in supported areas.

Brazil and Mexico will be the first ones to gain access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, with Australia and Japan getting theirs on October 1.

With this announcement, Xbox Cloud Gaming can now reach people across 26 countries and five continents. However, their main goal is to actually reach 2 billion more.

It was announced earlier this year that Xbox wants to reach a total of 3 billion players, or almost half of the population of the entire world. That includes folks with or without any access to actual Xbox consoles, which is where Xbox Cloud Gaming comes in.

Xbox Cloud Gaming: What It Does Now

So far, one can likely say that Microsoft and Xbox are both winning the game streaming/cloud gaming war against Sony and PlayStation.

That's because unlike Sony's competing PlayStation Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming offers far more access to some of the most anticipated current-gen and next-gen titles even to people who don't own Xbox consoles.

(Photo : INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)
A cloud-based console is displayed at the Microsoft Xbox stand during the Video games trade fair Gamescom in Cologne, western Germany, on August 21, 2019.

In the official blog post on Xbox, Microsoft made this pretty clear. Anybody can, for example, continue their playthrough of "Gears 5" on a low-end laptop even if it's not specifically made for gaming. People also have the option to jump into games such as "Sea of Thieves" even on their phones or tablets.

Furthermore, Xbox Cloud Gaming actually enables people to play current-gen Xbox exclusives because the service itself is powered by a host of custom Series X consoles, allowing for faster loading times and smoother frame rates.

What Does The Future Hold?

But if Xbox wants to solidify their hold on cloud gaming, they need to keep stepping their game up. Especially with rumors floating around Sony's alleged plans for PlayStation Now.

A patent filed back in April just surfaced, which could point to Sony's own cloud gaming service welcoming a host of PS5-exclusive games in the future. Should this come to pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming's best ace will be rendered almost useless.

But in the end, this is still a win for the consumers, especially those who still can't get their hands on a Series X/S or a PlayStation 5 console.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce