While we’re gearing towards a very interesting E3 2016, we have just learned that Microsoft could be working to bring Xbox One game streaming to Windows 10 Mobile. According to Reddit user eric5949 (thanks Albert from WindowsArea.de for the tip), the Windows 10 Mobile Xbox app seems to be able to display a “play from console” button instead of the usual “play on console” when users visit a game hub on the mobile app. However, the game streaming feature didn’t work after the Reddit user tapped the button as you can see in the screenshots below:
Please note that this Reddit user saw the game streaming option on Elite Dangerous Phyics Engine, a title which is described as “not a separate or playable game”. However, our colleagues at WindowsArea tried to replicate the feature and discovered that this game streaming option seems to be only available in the latest Windows 10 Mobile insider builds. Furthermore, it seems that even if you made sure to activate game streaming on your Xbox One, the Windows 10 Mobile Xbox app will consistently tell users that “game streaming is turned off on your Xbox One”.
Xbox One game streaming is one of the most interesting features of the Xbox app on Windows 10 PCs, and as this app is a UWP app it could definitely make sense for Microsoft to support the feature on Windows 10 Mobile devices. Furthermore, Microsoft previously revealed during a Build 2016 session dedicated to Continuum on Phone) some upcoming features that should be arriving this summer with the Anniversary Update, including support for the Xbox One controller. As we previously reported, Microsoft explained that users would be able to either plug the Xbox One controller directly into a Windows 10 phone using an adapter, or plug it into a Continuum dock to play supported UWP games on a big screen over Continuum. The second use case is definitely a nice way to beat the Continuum drum, and it could also avoid Windows 10 phones to eat up precious battery life when streaming games.
Microsoft may well share more details about game streaming on Windows 10 Mobile during E3. As we reported last week, Microsoft seems to be ready to look at the Xbox as a platform moving forward and the company seems to have many Xbox-branded products in the pipeline for this year: a slimmer Xbox One (a more powerful model codenamed “Project Scorpio” could be released in late 2017) as well as two new streaming devices including a Chromecast-like device that could be able to stream Xbox One games and a bigger device that could also run Windows UWP apps.
Hopefully, we won’t have to wait much longer to learn about Microsoft’s new options to stream Xbox One games to other devices. Do you think allowing game streaming on Windows 10 Mobile makes sense and could be one of the mobile OS “killer app” (well, at least if Microsoft keeps this feature exclusive to Windows 10 devices)? Or do you think it’s a gimmick feature that nobody would use on a phone? Please let us know what you think in the comments.
