Xbox Game Streaming Android Preview

January 18, 2020 at 3:34am
By Jason Stettner

With the expansion of the Xbox Game Streaming service to all Xbox One regions, I was finally able to dive in and give this a whirl. For context, this is similar yet not the true Project xCloud service.

This option is for players to essentially mirror their Xbox console onto their phones, tablets or other devices with Android being the only supported operating system that the current moment. I was able to test this with my Google Pixel 4, with home network speeds of 130/32 mb. I mention this as you need at least an upload bandwidth of 9Mbps in order for this to function.

For the most part it was quite flawless, at times it did face some pixelization when running even though I was very close in terms of all the devices involved. I also noticed that going upstairs would cause disconnects, so some work is still needed. While that might sound somewhat negative, it’s really quite marvelous.

It’s the equivalent of streaming the console to your Windows 10 PC through the Xbox app and it’s great to have the option of the phone. For gameplay you will need a Bluetooth enabled controller, and I didn’t notice any input latency.

It really did come across as being flawless input wise, that being said there was a slight feeling of delay or lag in regard to interactions for multiplayer games. It’s nice to have this for playing on your phone while others use the screen as an option for an example. I feel there’s some work that’s still needed which is why this is a preview version currently, but it was great and it looks fantastic. I’m running a Xbox One X for context, and it’s neat to see the console being used to run the experience.

That means you can use other apps, and the dashboard as well through this. It is different in comparison to Project xCloud and I just want to make sure that’s understood. I tested a number of games with this including Halo: The Master Chief Collection; Forza Horizon 4, Minecraft and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

I thought these were good examples of current titles, and for the most part they looked fantastic visually. Aside from minor visual blips that showed up as I mentioned previously. That, and some feeling of lag for the competitive multiplayer. I do love that this is Bluetooth enabled controller wise as I have options which were sent for me to review recently that connect beautifully for this type of setup. I really do think this is the start of the future for gameplay content.

To give players another option to game, especially when they can tap into their library. This particular setup is more tethered to your console, but in the future I see that not being an issue as true xCloud will allow usage without one. For now, this is the start of it and I can’t wait to see where it’s headed.

That’s really all for now, not a whole lot to cover I suppose. It presents what your console is running basically instantly, the controller input didn’t come across as having any delay and there were some patches of pixelization on the occasion. I could see myself using this around the house, but I will have to keep in mind about signal strength so some boosters might come in handy which are honestly something I’ve already been looking into.

I see this being very helpful for individuals that have to share screens, or perhaps want to play on their phone outside of the realms of being locked to their TV. It’s one step forward in being able to play my full games anywhere, and that’s exciting. I know that some can already access that, but it hasn’t come to Canada yet.

In case you’re wondering about setup, at the time you just need to be in the Xbox Insider program, download the Xbox Game Streaming app on your Android device and then follow the instructions. It doesn’t take long to get going. You can read our review of Gears 5 below, or check out the platform hub for additional coverage.

Read our Gears 5 Review
View our Xbox Hub