Microsoft Gaming CEO confirms game streaming via Xbox Cloud Gaming coming this year

Back in 2019, Microsoft promised that it’d allow users to stream Xbox titles they purchased via the Xbox Cloud Gaming starting in 2020. Of course, that never materialized, leading to many people speculating whether the company scrapped the project altogether. Well, Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming CEO, has confirmed that the team is still working on it and might arrive this year.

The news comes from a chat exchange between Phil Spencer and an Xbox fan (via @HazzadorGaming), who requested the former to share updates on when users will be able to stream their owned games via the Xbox Cloud Gaming. “Should be this year,” said Spencer (Xbox Gamertag: P3) in a reply to the query. However, Spencer hasn’t specified exactly when the feature will be added to the Xbox services, nor has he shared any other details regarding the streaming capability.

Xbox Cloud Gaming, however, requires an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, which is the highest-tier subscription plan within the Xbox Game Pass ecosystem. The subscription costs 16.99 a month in the U.S. Besides being able to stream your own games without storing them locally, the Ultimate subscription will offer exclusive member discounts, access to EA play, and more.

It’s unknown what took Microsoft nearly a decade to finally decide to launch game streaming as a functionality in the Xbox service. The reason for the delay could be legal hurdles rather than anything technical, but we wouldn’t know for sure unless Microsoft explains what took it so many years. Nevertheless, we hope Microsoft won’t miss this deadline and finally materialize what it promised five years ago.

If you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, how excited are you about the upcoming game streaming feature? Let us know in the comments section.