TECH NEWS – Phil Spencer has confirmed that one of the most critical Xbox Cloud Gaming features announced half a decade ago will finally be introduced…

According to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, Xbox Cloud Gaming could start letting users stream their own games sometime in 2024. Streaming fans have been waiting for this feature to be added to the Xbox service since the earliest days. They were expecting it even when it was still running under the name xCloud.

The promise of its arrival dates back to November 2019 when X019 was held in London, just a month after Project xCloud entered public beta testing in the US, UK and South Korea.

At the event, Microsoft announced that starting in 2020, users will be able to stream both Game Pass titles and “Xbox games you already own or have purchased.” Whether due to the global pandemic outbreak or some other reason, the company launched xCloud only for the Game Pass library the following year. Later, it extended support to Fortnite as well.

Phil Spencer says Xbox Cloud Gaming will “expectedly” start supporting streaming its own games in 2024

Officially, Microsoft is still silent about the feature to this day. Unofficially, during a recent Xbox chat exchange between Phil Spencer and a curious fan, the former revealed that the ability to stream purchased games “should” finally be launched sometime in 2024.

Although the executive did not elaborate on the matter further, certainly, streaming your own library through Xbox Cloud Gaming will still require an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership.

The pandemic probably didn’t help speed up the process of adding this much-requested feature to the service. But apparently, this is not solely responsible for the four-year delay. The fact that Microsoft’s cloud gaming ambitions have attracted a lot of regulatory scrutiny following its deal to acquire Activision Blizzard in early 2022 is believed to have been a much bigger factor in the company’s reluctance to move aggressively in this space.

The other challenges Microsoft must overcome before allowing users to stream their own game libraries aren’t just technical.

On the contrary. Such offers require a lot of legal work in the form of licensing agreements with third-party publishers. This is also why similar platforms like GeForce NOW add new games every month. As further agreements are made. Instead of allowing users to stream what they own.

The leaders made no mention of anything of the sort. You likely won’t be able to stream your own games through Xbox Cloud Gaming for at least a few more months.

Source: X

Phil Spencer says Owned Games to be playable on Xcloud in 2024

replies through Xbox chat, via @jhe007 pic.twitter.com/xnz3WgPJwi

— HazzadorGamin, Dragon of Dojima (@HazzadorGamin) February 18, 2024