Microsoft is currently powering Project xCloud with racks fitted with current-generation Xbox One consoles. However, in the near future, Microsoft will be turning to Project Scarlett instead to power its cloud gaming streaming service.
Speaking with Stevivor at the X019 fan event last week, Kareem Choudhry, corporate vice president of cloud gaming at Microsoft, stated that Project Scarlett was actually designed with the cloud in mind. The next generation of consoles will be a time for Project xCloud to evolve and when data centers across the world will switch Xbox One consoles with the new Xbox successor.
We designed [Project] Scarlett with the cloud in mind as well, and just as you’re going to see our console product family evolve with that next generation, the cloud is going to evolve along with it.
That being said, Microsoft won’t entirely be waiting for the next generation to start improving its cloud services. Project xCloud hosts more than fifty games at the moment, a library that Microsoft is looking to expand in the coming months. Recently, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, stated that Microsoft’s internal studios are working on multiple projects that will not only propel the reception of the cloud but also other services such as Project Scarlett and Xbox Game Pass.
Some of the more recent games added to the library include the likes of Tekken 7, Devil May Cry 5, and Madden NFL 20. Then there are games like Soulcalibur 6, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Hitman, Conan Exiles, Vampyr, Sniper Elite 4, and Just Cause 4, among others.
Project xCloud is now in active trial in the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Korea. The preview program will extend to more regions next year, including Canada, Japan, India, and Western Europe. The roll-out will be slow and expanding to additional markets like Australia will take time. Microsoft wants to do it right the first time.
