Microsoft’s xCloud game streaming service may be coming to iPhones and iPads soon, with employees reportedly testing a web-based version.
xCloud is currently available on Android devices, as well as Xbox and Windows 10, but is not available for Apple’s iOS and iPadOS platforms. Microsoft had previously announced it would bring a beta of the service to iOS in Spring 2021. In order to do so, Microsoft is working on a web browser version that will not need App Store approval.
According to The Verge, sources have confirmed that Microsoft employees are testing a web-based version of xCloud internally, prior to the release of the public beta.
For any customers worried that a web-based iOS version will somehow be a second-class citizen, Microsoft is also bundling the web version into the Windows 10 Xbox app. Like Google Stadia, the web version of xCloud requires a Chromium-based browser, such as Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.