Project xCloud Looking For Exclusives; Microsoft In "Early Talks" With Devs

Xbox has yet to fully release its streaming service, Project xCloud, but Microsoft is already looking into gathering some exclusive games for the platform. This news comes from xCloud head Kareem Choudhry, who told Australian outlet Stevivor, "In terms of [Project xCloud] exclusives, we're in early talks with first- and third- parties, but we don't have any announcements to share."

Okay, we've got a long wait before we hear any announcements about xCloud exclusives but Xbox is definitely interested in them. Right now, their first priority is getting the service in tip-top shape for launch. As Choudhry points out, you'll have plenty of games to play on xCloud even without new exclusives, "The first thing that we're doing is ... just lifting and shifting content that doesn't require any development changes into the cloud. So right away we've got a platform that can run any of the 3,000 games you can run on Xbox today."

We do have some idea where these exclusive games might come from. At E3 2018, Phil Spencer himself announced Microsoft had acquired quite a few studios. Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Playground Games, and Double Fine Studios have joined the Microsoft family and serve as likely candidates for developing xCloud-exclusive games in the future. 

Public previews for xCloud launched back in October and players can now get a taste of the service by streaming games straight to the device of their choice from the cloud or from their Xbox One. Yes, you can play games like Gears 5 on your phone on the bus (If you have an Android, that is). First impressions of the system are good, with critics praising the lack of lag, a noticeable improvement over Google Stadia's streaming which, despite launching a Founder's Edition, leaves much to be desired.