Sunday, December 22, 2024

Xbox Game Pass Adds A Nice New Feature, But Only For Testers Right Now

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Microsoft has announced that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can now stream some games they own on Xbox consoles as part of a pilot program, with the expectation for the feature to roll out for everyone in 2025. In a blog post, Microsoft said Xbox Insiders who are in the Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha rings can test out this feature right now. The Xbox Insider program is free and open to everyone.

In November, Microsoft announced that Game Pass Ultimate members could stream select non-Game Pass games they own on a smartphone, PC, or tablet in 28 supported countries. Now, however, this is being extended to consoles.

This new feature is called “Stream your own game,” and it allows players to stream games they own that are outside of the Game Pass catalog–the list of supported titles can be seen here. It includes games like Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, and NBA 2K25.

The cloud badge lets you know if a game can be streamed or not

Microsoft says the big benefit here is that players do not need to download anything locally because the games themselves are being streamed over the internet from a Microsoft data center. With file sizes growing, this might be an attractive option for some people. Of course, players need a stable and powerful internet connection for the best experience. Players should also be mindful about any data caps their internet service provider might have, as streaming games would quickly eat into that.

Players can navigate to My games & apps > Full library > Owned games to get started. From there, players will see a new “cloud badge” that lets them know if a game can be streamed. Users can also use the filter settings to see only the games that support cloud gaming. In the future, Microsoft said it plans build out the feature even more with things like support for launching directly from the Store app and streaming in the Xbox app on Windows PC.

The ability to stream non-Game Pass games could be quite handy in the event that one of your favorite games leaves the Game Pass library. Provided that game continues to offer cloud streaming, players could continue to be able to stream a game by purchasing it and then using this feature to stream it.

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