Xbox cloud streaming finally comes to Apple devices and PC
Xbox may have released both the Series X and Series S last year, but traditional consoles are only part of Microsoft's plan nowadays.
The tech giant previously trialed Xbox Cloud Gaming on Android devices, and last week they finally brought it to Apple devices (iOS and Mac) and PC, meaning you can play dozens of big-name games on your phone or laptop as if you were streaming a film on Netflix.
As long as you have a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and a compatible controller – which can even be a PlayStation 4 one – you're good to go. No Xbox console necessary.
Related: Nintendo responds to Switch Pro console rumours
Aside from the obvious caveat of needing a constant internet connection to stream, the selection is missing some of the titles on the console and PC versions of Game Pass, and Fable II kept freezing at the main menu for us, but it is still in beta at the moment.
Your save files and achievements sync across your streaming devices, as well as on console and Windows 10 store games on PC. A good chunk of games also have touch control options, and we don't just mean games that have also been released on smartphones, we mean big-blooded games like NieR: Automata and Dragon Quest XI.
Don't forget that EVERY SINGLE Microsoft Studios (now including Bethesda) game will come to Game Pass on the day of retail release for no extra cost. That includes Halo: Infinite, the Fable reboot and Psychonauts 2, among many others.
Related: The best Xbox Series X and Series S games
The streaming is available through web browsers rather than an app, but don't worry that the URL says it's a US-based website, your UK Xbox account and Game Pass Ultimate subscription will work fine.
If you aren't subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate (regular Game Pass doesn't include streaming), the flat rate is £10.99/month (currently £9.85 on ShopTo) or £29.99 for three months (currently £24.85 on ShopTo).
However, Microsoft are also offering to upgrade however many months of Xbox Live Gold you have to Game Pass Ultimate for just £1.
Since you can have up to three years of Gold on your account at one go, buying three years of Gold for £119.55 from ShopTo and paying the £1 upgrade fee is an absolute steal. Just make sure you say no when asked to convert a year of Gold to three months of Game Pass Ultimate when you add that to your account.
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