PlayStation has beaten Xbox to this long-awaited cloud gaming feature

News
By Jez Corden
published

You didn't see this coming!

PlayStation Plus Premium
(Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Cloud gaming is a relatively new market that allows gamers to stream titles from a remote server, bypassing the need for local hardware. 
  • Microsoft and NVIDIA are seen as frontrunners in the space, although PlayStation, Amazon, and various others also have services. 
  • Today, Sony's PlayStation division announced that it has beat Microsoft to a long-awaited Xbox Cloud Gaming feature: the ability to play games you personally own digitally in its service. 
  • As of right now, on Xbox Cloud Gaming, you only get access to games that are available in the Xbox Game Pass library. Once those games leave, even if you own them, you can no longer play them via the cloud.
  • Microsoft has previously announced an intent to bring Xbox players' digital libraries to Xbox Cloud Gaming, but the feature has yet to materialize. 

Cloud gaming is a niche, but growing sector in the world's biggest entertainment industry. Instead of having your gaming hardware locally on your PC or your console, you stream the games from the cloud, sending your inputs over your internet connection to a remote server. For Microsoft and other players, firms are hoping that gamers who don't necessarily want a gaming device may opt instead for a subscription service they can launch straight from their TV, tablet, ultrabook, or phone. 

Companies like Microsoft with Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA with GeForce Now are widely regarded as the frontrunners in this space. Armed with Xbox Game Pass exclusives, hundreds of games, and unbeatable global Azure server infrastructure, Microsoft is widely expected to be among the first companies to mainstream this tech. On NVIDIA's side, the firm's industry-leading server technology sees it take the crown for sheer performance, and last week, NVIDIA announced a partnership with Microsoft to bring PC Game Pass titles into its existing service. 

PlayStation is perhaps unfairly overlooked in this space. The firm is the world's biggest gaming outfit by revenue, and they were among the first companies to really bring cloud gaming to the masses. While Sony's earlier efforts were middling, increasingly it is becoming a serious contender, and this latest announcement gives PlayStation Plus Premium a large advantage over Xbox's Cloud Gaming. 

(Image credit: Windows Central)

Sony revealed that it is expanding the feature set of PlayStation Plus Premium to include not only PlayStation 5 games from Sony's Xbox Game Pass-like Game Catalog, but additionally, players will be able to stream "supported" digital titles that they own for the first time. 

"First off, we have very exciting news for PlayStation Plus Premium members. We’re currently testing cloud streaming for supported PS5 games – this includes PS5 titles from the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Game Trials, as well as supported digital PS5 titles that players own."

Microsoft announced a fairly long time ago that it plans to allow Xbox gamers to stream digital games they own from its servers via Xbox Cloud Gaming, but the capability has yet to materialize.

Cloud gaming has been the focus of Microsoft's regulatory battles with the likes of the UK CMA and the U.S. FTC over its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. United Kingdom and United States regulators claim that if Microsoft is able to acquire the Call of Duty maker, it will give them an unfair advantage in the very nascent cloud gaming market. Microsoft has responded with legally-binding contracts to continually offer cloud games to competitors, a remedy that the European Commission accepted a few weeks back. In previous conversations, I had heard that Microsoft was in talks with publishers about offering access for Xbox players' digital libraries via cloud gaming, and that the licensing issues were complex to resolve. 

It remains to be seen exactly which games PlayStation will enable on its service, or indeed if they will be available to purchase and stream to other devices beyond PlayStation consoles, but it's a positive first step. Competition in the space is definitely heating up. 

PlayStation Plus Premium costs around $15 per month depending on your market, and gives you access to hundreds of current and classic PlayStation titles via the cloud on PC, as well as various other benefits. 

Jez Corden
Jez Corden
Co-Managing Editor

Jez Corden is a Managing Editor at Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by tea. Follow on Twitter @JezCorden and listen to his XB2 Podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • GraniteStateColin
    Jez, what's the use case for this? I would think, but maybe wrongly, that the number of people who both buy a game and then would prefer to play it via streaming rather than locally is tiny. No?

    For the person who owns a gaming system and has paid full price for the game, I would expect he or she would rather play locally for the improved performance compared with streaming. Maybe occasionally while travelling there would be good opportunities for playing those owned games, but while on the road, casual games tend to be a better fit (simply because big Xbox and PS games tend to draw play for hours at a time, and road warriors rarely have hours to play).

    And for the person who doesn't own a gaming system, they're unlikely to want to buy the game in the first place.

    So this seems a very niche application: PS5 game owners who travel a lot and like to play their PS5 games while on the road instead of casual mobile-friendly games.

    Am I missing something?
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    This should make the CMA soooo happy.
    Instead of MS setting the rules for cloud gaming, it is *their* Sony.
    Reply
  • RoguePine
    GraniteStateColin said:
    Jez, what's the use case for this? I would think, but maybe wrongly, that the number of people who both buy a game and then would prefer to play it via streaming rather than locally is tiny. No?

    For the person who owns a gaming system and has paid full price for the game, I would expect he or she would rather play locally for the improved performance compared with streaming. Maybe occasionally while travelling there would be good opportunities for playing those owned games, but while on the road, casual games tend to be a better fit (simply because big Xbox and PS games tend to draw play for hours at a time, and road warriors rarely have hours to play).

    And for the person who doesn't own a gaming system, they're unlikely to want to buy the game in the first place.

    So this seems a very niche application: PS5 game owners who travel a lot and like to play their PS5 games while on the road instead of casual mobile-friendly games.

    Am I missing something?
    true
    the point of cloud gaming at this moment is in the limbo. nobody knows who is the target market right now to invest in such a costly market. is it console gamers? gamers with no consoles or high-end PC? gamers on the go like mobile devices? in any case handheld consoles such as Steam Deck or Rog Ally are much better options for portability. they may not offer PS5 games but they are powerful and include most games in any genre you like, also a lot of PS exclusives are coming to PC, so it's another hint.
    Reply
  • Jennifer Young
    I would say I use the Cloud 50% of the time I game, and have completely games wholly on the cloud. It's a lifesaver living in a houseful and not ncessarily having access to the television when you want it. Whether I own the games on my console or not I don't always have the luxury of being able to actually play them on it – thats the target market here, gamers who want to pick up and play anywhere.
    Reply
  • Cmndr_Bytes
    Jennifer Young said:
    I would say I use the Cloud 50% of the time I game, and have completely games wholly on the cloud. It's a lifesaver living in a houseful and not ncessarily having access to the television when you want it. Whether I own the games on my console or not I don't always have the luxury of being able to actually play them on it – thats the target market here, gamers who want to pick up and play anywhere.
    I travel for my company at times and visit my dad on the weekends. It's always nice to be able to connect to gamepass on my iPAD and play some of my games in the downtime/when my dad is sleeping.
    Is it as good as it is on the console? No, but it certainly scratches the itch. :)
    Reply