Not everyone has access to the powerful hardware that lets you play AAA games. You either need the latest video game consoles, a powerful computer, or a flagship smartphone, and in all of those cases, you’re going to need to drop several hundred dollars for that privilege. This is why remote and cloud gaming exists.
In the case of Sony and Valve, even if you’re on the other end of the planet, as long as your PlayStation or PC is on, you can stream games. However, Xbox takes it a step further, letting you play games on your Android phone, without even owning an Xbox. However, while the app is ready, it can’t find its way to the Play Store for now, due to issues.
First Of All, What Is Xbox Cloud Gaming?
Gaming is an extremely popular hobby, but it is also an expensive one, especially if you’re the kind of person who would rather complete 20 games than sink 1,000 hours into one online shooter (no judgment if that’s the case). You have to buy the game console or the PC first, and that will typically set you back by at least $300. That’s not money that most people are willing to just drop, especially when you factor in actual games.
This is why we’re blessed to be living in an era of cloud gaming. These days, with a platform like Xbox Cloud Gaming, you don’t need to have the superpowered hardware of an Xbox Series X to be able to enjoy the games that the console has to offer. Instead, by playing the game on a system in the cloud, with a high-speed internet connection, you’ll basically have your inputs sent to that console and the output streamed back to you.
Xbox’s Cloud Gaming App For Android Isn’t Able To Make It To The Play Store Just Yet
Now, when I said that you don’t need superpowered hardware, I really meant that. Flagship smartphones these days are immensely powerful, but not to the point where they can natively handle the kind of games that we see on consoles. All of that doesn’t matter with Xbox Cloud Gaming though, and that’s the whole purpose of the Xbox app for Android.
The only problem is, despite the actual software being ready, Microsoft is unable to put it up on the Play Store for download, citing a “temporary administrative stay” that was granted by the courts. However, a specific party wasn’t named, though reading between the lines, it is almost certainly related to Google’s request for a stay when it was ordered for the tech giant to open up the Play Store.
Hopefully, it shouldn’t take too long for things to normalize. The people are waiting.
If You Have A Samsung Galaxy Smartphone, The App Is Already Available On The Galaxy Store
There is a little bit of good news for the people interested who have Samsung phones. Since Galaxy users get the perk of the Galaxy Store, which is an entirely different storefront, Microsoft faced no issue getting its app in place there. So yep, you can download the Xbox Cloud Gaming app on the Galaxy Store right away!
