This Lumia 950 XL Utorcase mount offers a glimpse at the possibilities of mobile Xbox gaming

This Utorcase is a potentially awesome, but mostly useless, accessory for the Lumia 950 XL and Xbox One controller.

In the wake of Nintendo's hybrid Switch console, gaming on the go has again risen to the fore. There are exciting possibilities ahead for Microsoft in this area. With Windows 10 on ARM, future mobile devices might not just be capable of running apps, but even thousands of less-intensive Win32 games via Steam. Historically, Windows for mobile devices has missed out on hundreds of the latest games and crazes, most notoriously including Clash of Clans and Pokémon Go.

Getting Steam onto full Windows 10 ARM devices might go some way towards fixing the issue, but then, we'd have the issue of inputs. Touch won't lend itself well to games designed for keyboards, mice, and controllers. Thankfully, there are companies out there who could step in to fix things. Say hi to Utorcase.

The Utorcase itself

You can order the Utorcase from its website or via the 3D printing website Shapeways for virtually any phone, and any major controller. The cases are 3D printed based on the specifications you enter, and are simple to install.

As you can see from the pictures, the Utorcase is essentially a single solid frame which wraps around your controller, while providing a place to mount your phone. As a result of the 3D printing process, no doubt, the Utorcase has a very rough texture which made short work of my guitar-induced calluses.

At first glance, I thought the Utorcase looked incredibly fragile and brittle, but it's seriously sturdy. This might be some of the most resilient plastic I've ever seen for this size, and no matter how far I tried to bend it, it simply wouldn't snap. The strength of the plastic is a double-edged sword, however, as it was slightly too small to fit the standard Xbox One controller, and no amount of bending would help matters.

Removing the battery housing on the Xbox controller allowed it to snap into place. I suspect Utorcase doesn't get too many orders for this particular configuration due to the lack of games that actually support both Lumia phones and the Xbox One controller. However, I'm sure if this measurement mishap occurred to a regular customer, the company would be more than happy to replace it with revised measurements.

The Utorcase comfortably holds the Lumia 950 XL, curling around its edges with far more ease than that of the Xbox controller itself. I was able to shake the Lumia 950 XL upside down in the Utorcase housing, and it remained firmly locked in place.

See Utorcase at Shapeways

As solid as this product is, it's still useless for Windows 10 Mobile users, due to the aforementioned lack of software support.

Xbox gaming on the go?

We've talked to Microsoft before about supporting Windows 10 Mobile gaming, and the company always seems shy about the prospect. You can use the Xbox Dev Companion and the Xbox One S controller's Bluetooth stack to stream the Xbox One dashboard, but when you fire up a game, it simply stops working. So far, Xbox to Windows 10 game streaming is firmly the realm of PCs and even cheap tablets running full Windows, but with the full OS coming to ARM devices, it uncovers some exciting possibilities.

When I posted a photograph of me running Overwatch using this Utorcase configuration on reddit, it accumulated over 10,000 upvotes, putting the thread onto the front page. I'm by no means suggesting that it's empirical evidence for the probable mainstream adoption of Xbox One streaming on mobile devices, but at least it shows there's some interest.

Xbox Play Anywhere, by definition, is about allowing gamers to play wherever they are. Microsoft is well aware that gamers are increasingly moving to mobile, yet they are suspiciously absent in that space.

When I posted a photograph of me running Overwatch using the Utorcase on reddit, it accumulated over 10,000 upvotes.

There are a handful of decent mobile games from Microsoft Studios, of course, including Age of Empires Castle Siege and Halo Spartan Strike, but it pales in comparison to EA, Square Enix, and even Nintendo's recent efforts across iOS, Android, and even Windows.

You have to wonder if Microsoft is simply biding its time for the eventuality of full Windows 10 on ARM, where thousands of low-intensity Win32 games will suddenly be playable on a device that could look like these Surface Phone patents. The fact Microsoft was keen to demonstrate World of Tanks Blitz on its full Windows 10 on ARM devices should at least be some indication that Microsoft sees gaming as a pillar of interest when it comes to selling these types of devices.

It's easy to envision a future where appropriate UWP games scale not only between PC and Xbox, but even to devices running Windows 10 for ARM on future Snapdragon processors.

We've yet to see a game that utilizes UWP to run across Windows 10 PCs, tablets, phones, and Xbox in this way, despite the functionality being present. It's strangely odd that Microsoft themselves have yet to lead the charge, but perhaps not really, given W10M's market share.

Enabling Xbox One to Windows 10 Mobile game streaming using the Xbox One S with Bluetooth should be a fairly trivial feat, but there's every chance the company is simply waiting for the reality of full Windows 10 on ARM before moving forward in this space.

Hopefully, then, Microsoft will also consider to include mobile in their "Play Anywhere" efforts.

Would you use Xbox One streaming to Windows 10 Mobile using something like the Utorcase? Let us know in the comments!

Jez Corden
Co-Managing Editor

Jez Corden 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 caffeine. Follow on Twitter @JezCorden and listen to his Xbox Two podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!

45 Comments
  • It's not just this product that makes me want to see streaming on Mobile. It's also Continuum. Continuum makes it, in theory, possible to stream anywhere where there's an Xbox on the network, a dock, and a TV. Just pair an Xbox controller via BT and you're good to go.
  • With the question of Continuum, does anyone have any info on when the so called "Next Evolution of Continuum" update is coming??
  • I think Microsoft should start investing more in awesome mobile friendly games. I might buy this product to use it with an emulator.
  • If it works, it would be perfect! But I didn't get chance to test it.
  • Jez, Btw the dev app does work... I use it on my 950 XL. My X1S controller connected to the Xbox. When I start it. I start GTA V and when it gets into the game (when I can start walking around) i can't move. So I turn off the dev app and restart it and it works perfectly. Audio works and sometimes doesn't. Otherwise aside from some minor lagging it works great.
  • Xbox streaming to my 950xl? Not me...
    Imagine how your battery would go.
  • All your doing is streaming. Its the same as using Netflix...........
  • still, won't be nice for my battery. Any streaming stuff is hard on battery no?
  • Just plug in your power cord or portable charger.
  • But then you have to deal with an awkward cable hanging out. As it is now the cable seems to get in my way the way I hold my phone. Yea it'll be a little different with a controller connected but he is right in a sense that battery life in general in all products really need an overhaul.
  • that doesn't make it portable anymore... really don't understand why I'm downvoted for saying what I think.
  • I agree - what's the point in this? If you have to copy the game to your 950 then sucks to be you because you'll be out of space with 1 game and nothing else installed. If you are literally streaming direct from the Xbox to the 950 a la Windows 10 desktop again what is the point? It's not at all portable. I play games on my 950XL when I'm on the train on my daily commute to work - pretty sure streaming is not going to work in that scenario.
  • That's one of the worst things you can do for your phone. You'll destroy the battery that way.
  • Streaming isn't as hard on the battery as gaming, in most cases. You're not doing much more than just downloading video and viewing it on the phone. Obviously you're correct in that battery life will take a hit, but same for anything on your phone, including mobile gaming. So it's really either better, or no different, depending on what mobile game you are comparing it to.
  • I'm with you to an extent. Any phone game I play drains my battery fast. But if able to stream it who knows.
  • Have been waiting for something like this since the Xbox streaming surfaced, however, I'd like the possibility to stream on my phone even when away from home, since I have a great and fast dataplan and blazing fast speed at home.
  • That would be awesome! I hadn't really though of it, but it would be awesome to be able to do this while streaming away from home.
  • It can be done when away from home just do a quick bing search.(see what I did there) only issue is you need good speeds at both ends from what I have seen. I hope Microsoft build more on this though as I would love to move back to Windows phone but at the moment the lack of smart watch and apps I need like PayPal I have to stick with android.
  • This is kinda possible with a VPN, at least to a full W10 device.
  • I've done this with the Xbox dev mode companion, Xbox one s controller, VPN to home router and I can stream any of my console games to my 950xl from anywhere my connection is good.
  • The question is: Would you use Xbox One streaming to Windows 10 Mobile using something like the Utorcase? Let us know in the comments! My answer is NO ... Not just NO, but hell NO !!!! Why not just build a handheld Xbox device with Wi-Fi and 4LTE and have real Xbox On The Go. Hey Sony has the Handheld unit, why not Xbox. Microsoft always lag behind the industry, when they so catch up, they create amazing devices, then in the same ole Microsoft fashion, they abandon the device 6 tp 12 months later. Look at the Microsoft Band and Band 2, the best Activity Tracker on the planet, so what do they do at Microsoft, they abandon the product line. So No, I wouldn't use something that looks like an Xbox Gamepad with a growth attached to it. It's ugly, Bucky, and simply don't fit into your pocket.
  • If the W10M device in question had good connectivity (such as dual band WiFi) and good screen with a good battery performance, I'd definitely give it a try at least
  • Does Sony have a handheld anymore? 
  • Well first you're fogetting the fact that streaming won't work on a cellular signal, so you're mobile streaming device is literally ANY device on your network that runs Windows 10. Second, the Vita is a failure of a device, so the only real successful handhel is Nintendo. Third the only place Microsoft "lags behind" is Mobile phones. They are the most popular OS, the highest rated tablet, the most award winning console, you said it yourself they made the best fitness tracker. As I've said before, you regularly troll the WC facebook page with misinformation, don't bring it here too.
  • Together with game streaming from PC to phone, or even the promised desktop apps in ARM, I would give this a try, definitely. BTW, I saw the image wrong and thought it was a split-able controller like the one the Switch has, and it had my interest.    
  • Uh... I use my Xbox one s controller (connected to Xbox) and dev app with 950 XL and it works perfectly. When I start GTA v it won't let me move until I restart the app and reconnect then I'm golden. I've used plenty of times.........? It hurts my eyes but it's a fun possibility.
  • Would I use this on my wp, yes definitely the goal is one device for everything. Ok it may be limited but the possibility of just being able to is brilliant.
  • one word....sexxyyy >
  • Universal Emulator supprts it and it's awesome. So does SNES9x
  • It would be cool, if could be used over 4G, anywhere you go. I would buy this, RIGHT NOW. I dont own a 950xl but, I would buy it just to do this (would be nice to catch up on a game on my lunch break at work). Is there a sold list of exact ports needed to get the Xbox One remote play on Windows 10 to stream over VPN ? This is something my network COULD do, I just want to enable it.
  • Wow, if you could hook your phone up to a drone's camera and hook your phone up to the controller like that, it would be the coolest thing.
  • Would be nice to see that streaming possibility using some sort of technology like the one used on Beam.Pro
  • What about the standard 950 users?
  • That is a very good question, I would also like to know.
  • It's difficult to be sure from just the picture, but the material "looks" like carbon infused nylon. If this is the case, it would explain the strength and rigidity described in the article. Can't be sure though.
  • Would be cool to see games like Cuphead come to mobile as Play Anywhere titles. Pretty sure A smartphone could handle games like that. Or possibly they could use some kind of game stream like PS Now and that Nvidia one.
  • I've been using vba-10 and my xb1s controller together with this on my 950 since Xmas. Works really well.
  • Really, really want this ****
  • I don't really have any use for streaming from my Xbox to another device. If I want to play Xbox, I sit in my comfy chair and play Xbox on my TV. What I'd really like is to be able to play mobile games on my phone using the controller though. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I had read somewhere that was supposed to be coming in an update for W10M. I honestly haven't looked into it that much recently. I can't seem to keep up with what's been announced, what's been released, and what's been canned when it comes to updates.
  • Hey Everyone! UtorCase maker here :) Thanks Jez for the great review.
    Re battery cover: You do need to apply some force to connect the latch at the bottom of the controller. Please see how in this video https://youtu.be/MRDNHSrUas0  at 0:28 :)
  • Is there a 950 version too?
    ​EDIT: Yes, there is. :)
  • PS You can also connect your phone with the controller via USB OTG cable (if your phone supports OTG). Bit more cumbersome, but possible. :) You can play games like Dead Trigger already...
  • Can you play this on the Lumia 650 well not the case but can you play the games
  • The Xbox Dev Companion works fairly well for me on L650
  • So that means l can play Xbox games on l650?