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Gamers may soon be able to enjoy Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles without actually owning a physical copy of the game, or even a console; a new report indicates Microsoft is getting closer to launching a new cloud gaming platform that would let you play games in a web browser.
The Neowin report suggests cloud gaming could be Microsoft's "next killer gaming feature" and internal tests were currently working with both previous generation and next-gen titles. One source, who declined to be named, said gameplay looked to be 60fps, and the system was effectively running an entire console through a web browser - complete with Xbox 360 dashboard.
Several weeks ago, one of Microsoft's research divisions revealed Project DeLorean, an effort to significantly reduce the amount of latency when streaming games over the web. Lag is arguably the biggest factor preventing cloud gaming from gaining mainstream popularity, as players demand instant feedback from their inputs - especially when playing fast-paced shooters like Call of Duty or Battlefield. DeLorean aims to knock off around 250ms of latency, through a combination of pre-rendering frames before an ingame event occurs, then delivering the correct set of frames to your console based on your controller inputs.
Microsoft has been quietly experimenting with cloud game streaming for some time; it demonstrated Halo 4 running on various devices via the cloud last year, but has remained quiet on the technology since. Rival Sony, meanwhile, has been moving forward with its own PlayStation Now cloud gaming service for the PS4, which lets gamers play PS3 titles over the internet.
Microsoft isn't yet ready to discuss cloud gaming publicly, as licensing deals will likely need to be signed with third party publishers and developers before the service can launch. According to Neowin the project is more than a proof of concept, so it is looking promising that gamers may get their hands on the service in the not too distant future.
