Xbox Cloud Gaming Now Reaches 1 Billion People, Microsoft Says

Microsoft is trying to reach 3 billion gamers around the world, and no single piece of Xbox hardware will be able to achieve that, so Microsoft is turning to cloud streaming to expand its reach. As part of Microsoft's Tokyo Game Show event, the company announced that Xbox Cloud Gaming has launched in Brazil and Mexico, while it's coming to Australia and Japan on October 1. This gives Xbox Cloud Gaming a potential audience of 1 billion right now, the company claims.

Subscribers in those countries can play the more than 100 Xbox Game Pass titles that work over the cloud and stream them to their PC or phone, or even an Xbox console in some places. The big appeal of streaming is that there is no local download, and that's noteworthy because games are getting bigger and bigger in size these days. Cloud-streaming is also theoretically useful as a means to quickly try a game to decide if you like it rather than waiting a while for it to download.

With the launch in Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico, Microsoft says Xbox Cloud Gaming now reached more than 1 billion people across five continents and 26 countries. The bigger goal, however, is to reach 2 billion more people.

"We are creating a future that combines the gaming heritage of Xbox and the power of Azure. A future where we bring high fidelity, immersive games to more than 3 billion players around the world," Microsoft said.

Ampere Analysis' Piers Harding-Rolls observed that the push into Brazil specifically is noteworthy. "Support for Brazil is the most interesting here considering the size of population, the high cost of console hardware and the mobile gaming activity," Harding-Rolls said on Twitter. "Microsoft Azure expanded support to Brazil at the end of 2020, so this is a way to flex its cloud capability in that market."

For more on Xbox Cloud Gaming, check out GameSpot's rundown of all the key details you need to know.