Microsoft’s Project xCloud gets a new alliance in South Korea

Microsoft is working on a cloud gaming platform called Project xCloud which is expected to run beta trials by the end of this year. The cloud gaming platform is anticipated to be a complimentary service to Xbox One and Project Scarlett gaming consoles. The streaming services will be hosted on remote servers in which the gameplay videos will be directly sent to the devices over the internet. The whole experience of the service will feel like the user is playing a preloaded game on the device. Microsoft has a large network of data centers around the world and this will combine with Azure cloud servers to ensure that the game requests are facilitated locally.

Microsoft partnered with SK Telecom, a South Korea based company to bring cloud gaming based on 5G to Korea. The partnership is expected to combine the SK telecom’s 5G services with Microsoft’s Project xCloud to provide a seamless mobile gaming experience. Latency is a major drawback in cloud gaming because milliseconds are vital and Microsoft is working towards reducing the latency drastically. The cloud gaming service is not seen as a replacement for consoles, instead, it is developed to cater to the versatile needs of users.

The idea of the project is to provide console-quality gaming on mobile devices because there are almost 2 billion-plus active mobile gamers around the world. The newly formed partnership with SK telecom is crucial for Microsoft to maintain the upward trajectory of the gaming industry. The project is developed in South Korea due to its game studios and incredibly engaged gaming community.