it leverages the power of your Xbox to
provide a smoother experience.
Unlike its main rival, Google Stadia,
which is reliant on remote data
centres, xCloud uses both servers and
local hardware. While you don’t need
to own an Xbox to access the service
- those players’ games will be handled
entirely by the cloud – Xbox owners
will receive a performance boost
thanks to their console.
In basic terms, your Xbox One acts
as a personal server. The upside of
this more physical-based approach?
It should help cut down on input lag,
which has often been a killer when it
comes to game streaming. Just ask
OnLive. Considering Scarlett is many,
many times more powerful than the
standard Xbox One, this should ensure
xCloud runs even more smoothly on
the next-gen machine. While the
quality and speed of your internet
connection will play an important role,
the power of Scarlett should hopefully
take on some of the heavy lifting.
Xbox everywhere
Tie this into Xbox Game Pass, which is
also now available on PC, and it seems
Microsoft increasingly sees Xbox as
a brand, not a singular box that sits
underyourTV.If thatmovementseems
PaSS iT oN
microsoft’ssubscriptionservicehaslandedonpCIf you’re an Xbox One owner who’s also fond of PC
gaming, Microsoft made all your Christmases come at
once at E3. During its conference, the company
announced the beta for Xbox Game Pass on PC had
gone live, and at an extremely competitive price. Not
only can you join up for a £1/$1 monthly trial, but the
full service only costs £3.99/$4.99 a month. For that,
you get access to over 100 games, all of which can be
played at 4K if you have a powerful enough PC. Not bad
for less than the price of a pint, huh?
For those that want to access the service on both
Xbox One and PC, Microsoft has introduced a new
subscription package that lets you access the entire
library on both systems for £10.99/$14.99 per month.
For those titles that have yet to receive Xbox One X
patches – we’re looking at you, Sunset Overdrive – the
ability to play formerly exclusive console games on a
Windows 10 PC at 4K is a game-changer.How do you fEEl about ProjEct scarlEtt? tEll us at http://www.facEbook.coM/oxMuk
abovEthe joy of
GamePassis
now available to
Pcusers.
rIGHtthere
isn’tan official
shotofscarlett
yet, but here’s a
look at some of
its innards.at odds with the concept of enticing
you to buy a powerful, 8K compatible
console... well, just know that Scarlett
is for those looking for the absolute
premium Xbox experience.
While many gamers will happily keep
playing titles at 1080p, Scarlett is
there for that part of the market that
craves the cutting edge. Considering
8K TVs have only recently started to
go on sale at (semi) affordable prices,
the next Xbox is futureproofed to an
almost ridiculous degree. If you’ve just
made the upgrade to a 4K TV, Scarlettshould have all the grunt you’re going
to need for years to come.
For now, Microsoft is trying to cater
for every level of gamer. Whether
you only buy a few games a year or
spend hundreds of hours checking
out every title on Xbox Game Pass, and
regardless of whether you’re playing
on a tiny bedroom TV on Xbox One S
or on a 65-inch 4K OLED with an Xbox
One X, Microsoft has you covered. And
when Scarlett does arrive, the high-
end player will have more pixels than
they know what to do with. ■More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm ThEoffiCiaLXboX magaziNE 011