Microsoft’s Xbox One is getting its own video game streaming service, akin to Sony’s PlayStation Now and Nvidia’s GeForce Now.
The company has been hinting at the service since November 2017, when Microsoft’s Phil Spencer told Bloomberg that Microsoft would debut a streaming service “in the next three years.” Spencer said Microsoft’s streaming service would not require a console “for some types of content.”
Spencer confirmed development of the game streaming service during the E3 press conference. “Our cloud engineers are building a game streaming network to unlock console-quality gaming on any device,” he said. “We are dedicated to perfecting your experience everywhere you want to play—your Xbox, your PC, and your phone.”
Microsoft already offers a subscription service called Xbox Game Pass, which allows users to download and play Xbox games for $10 a month. Multiple new games will continue to be added to the game pass, Microsoft announced during the press conference.
Sony’s PS Now service gives users access to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 games, all of which can be streamed to Windows PC subscribers. There are at least 20 games on PS Now. The service costs $20 per month. Microsoft’s service is expected to operate similarly.
Details are still slim—Spencer spent only moments talking about the service’s development before moving on.
