Microsoft continues to add value to its Xbox Game Pass with a new announcement that will hopefully turn phones into handheld gaming devices. Those who subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate can experience classic Xbox titles on the go for no extra cost as backward compatibility meets Xbox Cloud Gaming.
In 2015, Xbox began its "Backwards Compatibility Program" and continues to build a library full of classic Xbox and Xbox 360 games. Then in 2017, Xbox rolled out the Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service that gave users unlimited access to a huge library of games that included new releases on day one, which has over 18 million subscribers as of January 2021.
Today, Xbox is launching a new beta program for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, enabling users to use Xbox Cloud Gaming to play a select group of 16 Xbox and Xbox 360 titles on android phones and tablets. The select titles include some of Xbox's best franchises, such as Fable, Gears of War, Viva Pinata, and some popular third-party titles like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. Cloud gaming also comes with the benefit of keeping users saves remotely, meaning players can jump between devices without losing a save file. The current selection of games includes:
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Banjo-Tooie
- Double Dragon Neon
- Fable 2
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Gears of War 2
- Gears of War 3
- Gears of War: Judgement
- Jetpac Refuelled
- Kameo
- Perfect Dark
- Perfect Dark Zero
- The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
- The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
- Viva Pinata
- Viva Pinata: TIP
Xbox has already promised more titles will be added over time and seem to be committed to making this service enjoyable to use for its Game Pass subscribers. Xbox will also enable Touch controls for some games, like Viva Pinata, to allow for better controls on smaller devices, possibly making mobile the best way to play these games, provided that the internet connection is stable enough. With the recent rebrand of Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass's success, it looks like Microsoft is betting on Game Pass as a key part of Xbox's future.
Backward compatibility is important to the players who like keeping their library of games and console makers, who also benefit from this consumer-friendly move. For example, Xbox Series X technically launched with thousands of games due to it being backward compatible. As well as giving a console a bigger library at launch, allowing players to access their older game also takes the pressure off console makers to release bigger games a launch, a benefit that is helping Xbox a lot right now during a lack of first-party games.
How successful this service will depend on how stable Xbox Cloud Gaming is on mobile devices and will only benefit those with a solid internet connection or data plan. This new feature costs Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers nothing extra and adds further value to an already great service.
Source: Xbox