Xbox Players Will Be Able to Stream Games Before Downloading Them

Microsoft will be adding cloud gaming functionality to the Xbox App and PC. Because of this, players will be able to stream games before downloading them later this year. This was announced by Xbox in a blog post on Thursday.

“Later this year, we’ll add cloud gaming directly into the Xbox app on PC and integrate it into our console experience to light up scenarios like try before you download,” Xbox said.

In practical terms, this means you will be able to try playing a game before you download it. And according to Xbox head Phil Spencer, this is just one part of Microsoft’s commitment to cloud gaming.

Speaking at a pre-E3 press briefing (via PC Gamer), Spencer said, “We’re the only platform shipping games on PC, cloud, and console simultaneously. Others bring console games to PC years later, not only making people buy their hardware upfront but then charging them a second time to play on PC.”

Continuing, he said that “with cloud gaming, we now have the ability to bring these great AAA-quality games to the hundreds of millions of below-spec Windows PCs that to date haven’t been able to play the hit games that everybody sees.”

Furthermore, gamers may soon be able to experience Xbox titles without actually owning an Xbox. That is because Microsoft is working to bring the Xbox experience to smart TVs, allowing players to simply connect a controller and start playing instead of buying an expensive new system.

If that’s not cool enough, Microsoft is planning to drop a first-party title to Game Pass every three months. This adds even more value to what is currently the best deal in gaming.

Are you looking forward to streaming games this way? Be sure to let us know in the comments!