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Microsoft has launched the beta version of its Xbox xCloud games streaming service, which will allow gamers to play console-quality games on their mobile phones.
Anyone with the Xbox Game Pass app and an Ultimate subscription can now download the beta app from the Google Play Store on their Android phones.
However, the service will not be available on iOS devices due to Apple's strict rules about how apps on its App Store have to function.
Xbox xCloud is Microsoft's new cloud gaming service, which will allow gamers to play high-quality games using an Xbox One controller on their Android smartphones.
During the limited beta testing period users are getting an opportunity to play "a subset of the available titles" - around 30 - ahead of the full launch next month.
The subscription service isn't cheap, costing £10.99 per month in the UK and $14.99 in the US - but the 100 games it offers users access to will be a rotating selection of the hottest titles on Xbox.
It will be available in full in North America, Europe and South Korea from 15 September, where gamers will have access to the games.
Similar to Google's cloud gaming platform Stadia, the service will allow users to play games using cloud computing - having the games run on hardware the phones are connecting to remotely, giving gamers the ability to play higher-quality games on their mobile devices.
Microsoft had initially intended for the service to be available on iPhones and other iOS devices too, however Apple has prohibited games-streaming apps from the App Store.
Image: The service will not be available on iPhones
Apple, which has also banned Google Stadia from the App Store, explained that the services did not follow its normal review guidelines, which involve games being reviewed individually.
Microsoft has criticised Apple for this decision, saying the company "stands alone as the only general-purpose platform to deny consumers from cloud gaming and game subscription services like Xbox Game Pass".
"[Apple] consistently treats gaming apps differently, applying more lenient rules to non-gaming apps even when they include interactive content," Microsoft added.
The issue for Apple is seen to be that it doesn't know which games or services users are playing on its devices, as they are all accessed through the Microsoft app.
(CGTN)
