The update was announced through Reddit by the Principal Product Manager Lead for xCloud Services Jim Cohen. If you’re unfamiliar with xCloud, before it became Xbox Cloud Gaming the service was known as Project xCloud. In his post, Cohen says Linux playing Xbox Cloud Gaming through a browser will see improved resolutions and streams will generally run smoother. The same goes for Google’s always-connected platform Chrome OS. Unfortunately, Cohen does not say what specifically Microsoft has done to boost performance. I guess server-end improvements. Xbox Cloud Gaming is backed by Microsoft Azure servers. Gaming devices such as Logitech’s Gaming Handheld and Valve’s Steam Deck run Linux and support Xbox Cloud Gaming. This news should be appealing to both subsets.
Cloud Success
During Microsoft’s Fiscal 2023 Q1 earnings call last month, the company’s CEO Satya Nadella discussed the growing popularity of Xbox Cloud Gaming. He points out that the platform has been used by 20 million people since launching: “PC Game Pass subscriptions increased 159 percent year over year. And with Cloud Gaming, we’re transforming how games are distributed, played, and viewed. More than 20 million people have used the service to stream games to date.” This followed Microsoft’s confirmation that Xbox Game Pass is making loads of cash. Of course, a major part of the platform these days is the Xbox Cloud Gaming service. Tip of the day: For the most part, Windows apps are stable, but they can still be still thrown out of whack by updates or configuration issues. Many boot their PC to find their Microsoft Store isn’t working or their Windows apps aren’t opening. Luckily Windows 11 and Windows 10 have an automatic repair feature for apps that can resolve such issues.
