Xbox Head Says xCloud On Xbox Series X Makes Sense Because It Gets People To Try More Games

Microsoft has announced that its game streaming tech, Project xCloud, will be part of its plans going forward with the Xbox Series X. In a new interview, Xbox head Phil Spencer says that putting the tech to work on consoles just makes sense for discoverability, based on the data it's seen both with xCloud testing and its Game Pass service.

"The xCloud scenario on a console makes a ton of sense," Spencer told IGN Unlocked. "One of the things we're seeing in xCloud today, in the preview, is we watch people sample games. We see that in Game Pass already, even on console. We call it the 'hummingbird effect.' People are just willing to try more games, but obviously you have download times. So on xCloud you definitely get people who are sampling a lot more games, and I think that's healthy for our industry. I want more different kinds of games played, more creators found, more new favorite games."

He also noted that in the tech preview for xCloud, players can go from watching a trailer to streaming a game almost seamlessly--a feature idea also touted by Google when it detailed its Stadia service. Spencer said that's also a boon to discoverability.

Though Spencer's comments tie together xCloud and Game Pass in a philosophical way, the company hasn't detailed how or if the two services will work together. It may be that Game Pass subscribers will also be able to use the streaming tech to jump into games more quickly, which would make sense with Spencer's comments about how the two serve similar goals.

The interview also touched on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the company, the price point and power level for Series X, and the upcoming console's launch line-up.