Xbox Cloud Gaming is Microsoft's cloud streaming for Game Pass. You play the Game Pass games from Xbox hardware in Azure data centers, with no download. You can also stream many games that you buy on the Xbox store.
Status nowOnlinefrom Microsoft’s status pageDetails ↓Two lists. The Game Pass catalog, for the games that Microsoft enabled for the cloud. And a longer list of games that stream only if you buy them.
The simplest cloud service if you want games in the plan, from $9.99 with Essential. The picture stops at 1440p, and from November 2026 the hours are counted.
Xbox Cloud Gaming streams the Game Pass catalog from Xbox Series X hardware in Microsoft data centers. You open the Xbox app or a browser, select a game and play. No install.
Game Pass includes a cloud library that varies by plan. Xbox also streams supported games you buy separately on the Xbox store; these still require a cloud-enabled membership. A Steam or Epic purchase does not count as an Xbox copy. Check each game for its access requirements.
Games leave the catalog when their Game Pass term ends. Microsoft announces a departure about two weeks before.
Prices from Microsoft, checked 2026-08-28.
Game Pass games and supported Xbox games bought separately. Check each game for the required membership and whether you need to buy it.
Xbox Series X|S & Xbox One · Windows (app & browser) · Android · iPhone & iPad (browser) · Samsung TVs · Meta Quest · Amazon Fire TV · browser
Xbox Series X servers in Microsoft Azure data centers. Microsoft publishes no list of regions and no queue figures. The status shown is for cloud gaming only, not the rest of Xbox. It is the same in every country.
Microsoft's status page29 countries in North America, Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Korea, Australia and India.
The four other services, with the difference in one sentence.
No. Xbox Cloud Gaming is up. This is what Microsoft's own status page says (https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-live-status).
It depends on the game. Game Pass includes a library; other supported games must be bought on Xbox. A cloud-enabled membership is still required. Two lists. The Game Pass catalog, for the games that Microsoft enabled for the cloud. And a longer list of games that stream only if you buy them.
No. Xbox Cloud Gaming needs Game Pass Essential ($9.99/mo).
Up to 1440p at 60 fps on Game Pass Ultimate. 1080p at 60 fps on Essential and Premium.
Xbox Series X|S & Xbox One, Windows (app & browser), Android, iPhone & iPad (browser), Samsung TVs, Meta Quest, Amazon Fire TV and browser.
29 countries in North America, Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Korea, Australia and India.
The status shown is for cloud gaming only, not the rest of Xbox. It is the same in every country. The official page is https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-live-status.
One game is: Fortnite streams on xbox.com/play with a free Microsoft account and no Game Pass, with touch controls on a phone. Everything else needs a Game Pass plan — Essential, Premium or Ultimate. There is no free trial of the cloud on its own; Microsoft sometimes sells a first month of Game Pass at a reduced price.
Yes, in a browser: xbox.com/play in Edge, Chrome or Safari on Windows, macOS, iPhone and iPad. Windows also has the Xbox app. There is no App Store app on iPhone; Apple's rules keep it to the browser, which is why you add xbox.com/play to the home screen.
Yes, through Microsoft Edge on SteamOS. Microsoft publishes the steps: install Edge from the Discover store in desktop mode, add it to Steam, set its launch options to open xbox.com/play, and the Deck's controls work as a gamepad. Microsoft says it does not support the Edge package on SteamOS itself, so updates can break the setup.
Usually. An Xbox, PlayStation or other Bluetooth controller works on every device. On a phone or tablet, a set of games has touch controls drawn on the screen; the Xbox app marks them. A keyboard and mouse work in a browser for some games. Made for a controller, as Microsoft says.
Check the status line at the top of this page first; when Microsoft reports a problem with cloud gaming, nothing on your side fixes it. Otherwise the usual causes are a connection under 10 Mbps, Wi-Fi far from the router, a VPN, or a browser that is not Edge, Chrome or Safari. A long wait is not a fault: Essential members queue behind Premium and Ultimate.
1,408 streamable games: 556 listed in the Game Pass library and 852 listed as games you buy separately. Inclusion varies by plan; check each game’s access requirements.
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