Microsoft is rolling out updates to its Xbox PC app and Xbox consoles, enabling cloud-streamed games to sync across multiple devices. This enhancement introduces a “play history” section that will display recently played cloud games, ensuring continuity for users across Xbox consoles, PCs, and handheld devices.
Cloud-playable titles are now appearing within the play history and library sections of the Xbox PC app. Lily Wang, Product Manager of Xbox Experiences, stated, “This includes all cloud playable titles, even console exclusives spanning from the original Xbox to Xbox Series X|S, whether you own the title or access it through Game Pass.” This means that games played via the cloud, including console exclusives not natively available on PC, will show up in the recent games list and be playable through Xbox Cloud Gaming on Windows, complete with cloud-powered game saves.
Users can locate cloud-playable games through a new filter in the library section of the Xbox PC app. Additionally, a new “play history” section will be integrated at the end of the “jump back in” list on the app’s home screen. Wang explained, “While the large tiles highlight games you’ve recently played on your current device, the play history tile shows games you’ve played across any Xbox device, making it easy to pick up where you left off.”
This same play history functionality is also being implemented on the main Xbox console interface. This integration hints at future possibilities, including the potential for PC games to be listed and playable via Xbox Cloud Gaming. While Xbox Cloud Gaming currently leverages Xbox Series X chip architecture for its server blades, internal communications from the 2023 FTC v. Microsoft case revealed that Microsoft has been exploring streaming PC games over the cloud. Industry observers anticipate that as Microsoft continues to converge its Xbox and PC ecosystems for next-generation consoles, Xbox Cloud Gaming may expand to support PC titles and offer improved bitrates and resolutions.
