Microsoft has announced that its cloud video game service will debut in September as a feature available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

PLAY OVER 100 XBOX GAMES

Ultimate subscribers will be able to access a library of games for play on Xbox consoles or Windows powered computers.

CONSOLES FACE THREAT FROM CLOUD GAMING

Pricing has yet to be announced but the release date was confirmed for the Christmas holiday season next year, when Sony’s PlayStation 5 console is also scheduled to come out.

The current PlayStation 4 has outsold Xbox by more than two to one. Microsoft hopes to take the battle back to Sony which has yet to give any technical details for its own new console. Consoles face a potential threat from the advent of cloud gaming.

FUTURE OF GAMING

Google launched its Stadia streaming service allowing game play on any Internet connected device last year.

Sony Interactive Entertainment has a PlayStation Now service that combines cloud gaming and title downloads that is synched to its latest generation consoles and Windows powered personal computers.

The case of having game titles sit on powerful servers in the cloud could allow for unprecedented features such as thousands of people playing simultaneously.

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