Cloud-based gaming has slowly spread across the industry in the last couple of years. Aside from the abject failure of Stadia, some platforms managed to take off, even with the idea in its infancy. As more and more gamers joined the trend, the desire for more supported platforms grew. This was one of the primary reasons Stadia faltered, a lack of supported platforms. And it would seem Xbox Game Pass and others are learning the lesson.
How to stream Xbox Game Pass games on iPhone and iPad
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members have the ability to stream games from the service onto supported devices. The bevy of devices runs from PCs to mobile phones. Apple and iOS devices of many kinds are supported. The xCloud services running this feature have been in beta for a while, here’s how you can finally play them. First, let’s talk about devices. Here is a rundown of all the currently supported devices for xCloud on IOS:
iPhones
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 12 Mini
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPads
- iPad Air (3rd Gen)
- iPad Air (4th Gen)
- iPad Pro 11-inch 2nd Gen
- iPad mini 5th Gen
- iPad 8th Gen
Go to xbox.com/play and click the green Sign In button at the top to access the Cloud Streaming content and other settings. Next, you need to Sign in to the Microsoft account linked to your Xbox Game Pass. There will be a Share button at the bottom of the main screen, click it. You can then set the Game Pass app on your Home screen via the options there.
Once you’ve done this, you can then open your Game Pass directly on your devices. You just need to sign-in again when you open up the app via the Home Screen.
Players will want to make sure their internet connection is up to snuff. Microsoft recommends a stable WiFi connection with a downstream rate of 10-20 megabits per second. There may be some input lag seen at this speed, so try to play on connections faster than this baseline. Bandwidth is another consideration. According to tests, the xCloud service can consume up to 3 GB per hour of play, so plan ahead to limit exposure if you’re on a data cap.
Each month, the publishers often add new titles to Game Pass as well. Not all of them will be enabled for streaming though, so you have to check the list of games to see what’s supported.