3 Reasons Xbox Cloud Gaming makes sense on a console (and 1 drawback)

Today we’re taking a peek at how Xbox Cloud Gaming works on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One. This gaming system was rolling around in beta mode for a while in 2021 and formally launched in the month of November, 2021, for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. It’s made for playing games in the cloud – and for the most part, cloud gaming seems best suited to mobile devices aiming to play games that’d only otherwise be available on consoles and PCs. So why would you want to play Xbox Cloud Gaming on an Xbox?

Before we drop in on reasons why Xbox Cloud Gaming makes sense on Xbox consoles, note that Xbox Cloud Gaming is not a subscription service unto itself. You’ll subscribe to “Xbox Game Pass Ultimate”, and receive access to Xbox Cloud Gaming – one exists inside the other.

Console Hopping

If you’re using an Xbox One, and you don’t yet have access to an Xbox Series X, there’s a decent chance you’ve run into a bit of FOMO when it comes to the newest in new games. Some games released in the recent past, and a whole bunch of games released in the near future, will only be playable on Xbox Series X and S consoles.

With Xbox Cloud Gaming, some Xbox Series X games are playable in the cloud. Instead of buying an Xbox Series X just to play a game like The Riftbreaker, Xbox Cloud Gaming can be used to play the game on Xbox One.

Friend Invites

If you have a friend who plays an Xbox game that’s part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate program, you could potentially join said player in an online gaming session without downloading the game they’re playing. This could be particularly helpful if your friend plays a game that would otherwise be a massive energy drain on your resources because it’s a game that’s gigantic when downloaded.

No Installs

On a very similar note to the point above, Xbox Cloud Gaming allows you to play games without downloading said games. If you’re using the most basic iteration of whatever Xbox you own, you might have limited hard drive space. If you’re the sort of person who plays a lot of different games, this system allows you to have access to said games without needing to have each game fully downloaded.

Xbox Cloud Gaming also opens the door to a new sort of game testing model. If you see a game you might like, jump in and play it. If you like it a lot, download the whole thing so you have access to said game forever.

One potential drawback

As is the case with any cloud media platform, you don’t have access to Xbox Cloud Gaming games forever. Or at least you don’t necessarily, definitely have access forever. If you own the game already, this system won’t be able to take said access away from you – but if you’ve only ever played a game with this system, there’s always a chance it won’t be available at some point in the distant future.

Like Netflix or Spotify, Xbox Cloud Gaming allows you to access games that are hosted by the client – in this case Microsoft. If you play a game on this platform and fall in love, you might eventually want to drop the full cash amount on the game to own a physical copy.