Microsoft To Bring Xbox One Game Streaming to Windows 10 Devices Later This Year

Microsoft wants to make your Xbox One a local game server for all your Windows 10 devices, the company announced today. Xbox lead Phil Spencer showed off the new feature on stage today in Seattle at Microsoft’s special event, playing Forza on Xbox One and streaming it to a Surface 3 where he controlled and viewed it remotely.
This is actually a huge win for Xbox One owners who also operate Windows 10 devices (which should theoretically include any Windows 7 or 8 device, thanks to the free year-long update period). Sony offers Remote Play for PS4, but it requires either Xperia Android-based hardware, or a PlayStation Vita or TV to work – Microsoft has a huge install base of PC hardware that it should be able to already serve.

With this move, the Xbox One becomes a central hub for whole-home gaming, in the same way that a media server hub can offer up streaming video from a central location. It eliminates the need to get multiple consoles for multi-room gaming, and it follows a growing trend of gaming companies looking to streaming as a way to expand the capabilities of gaming hardware, both in terms of processing limitations, and getting beyond the physical limitations of isolated local hardware.