Microsoft just expanded the xCloud Preview games list with a large new collection.
Now, gamers who have access to the preview will be able to pick from a large selection of games instead of just the original four.
When the preview started, only Gears 5, Halo 5: Guardians, Sea of Thieves, and Killer Instinct were available. After today’s expansion players can dive into titles like Devil May Cry 5 and Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night, among many others.
There are now over 50 games in the xCloud Preview
For a preview of an upcoming service, and a free one at that, four games wasn’t so bad. Microsoft seems to have really outdone itself though.
Players have gone from having just four titles at their fingertips to over 50 in about a month. This might not seem exciting to someone who may already have an Xbox One and has played these games.
To anyone who doesn’t own an Xbox though and did get access to the preview, this is huge. It’s an open ticket to play some of the biggest game titles on the Xbox One platform for free. Save for the cost of the controller if you don’t already own one.
That being said, you can pick one of those up for less than the price of one game at full cost. And it’s a one-time buy. After that, you can play as many games as you like and not have to pay for any of it for now.
Eventually, Microsoft will adjust things and start charging for the service. For the time being though there’s no word on cost or when things will launch exactly. It’s simply “in 2020” at some point.
xCloud’s game list already outshines Stadia’s
Stadia launches in less than a week. And with it, players will get 12 games on day one to play. Some of those titles are great games. But, none of them are new.
Meanwhile, xCloud Preview users are getting treated to a massive list of over 50 titles. Most of these games aren’t entirely new either, but there are many, many more options. And that’s a good thing for players.
Google is committing to bringing more games to the platform in the weeks and months after Stadia’s launch. And eventually some of those titles will be newly released options. Google has its work cut out for it though.
If it wasn’t clear before, it should be clear now. Google has the money and resources to make Stadia a success, eventually. But it may not be an immediate thing and it probably won’t be easy. Not when you have Microsoft’s slightly more attractive service waiting in the wings.