Microsoft is planning games for your PC’s web browser.
According to a report from technology news website Neowin, the software company is experimenting with Xbox 360 and Xbox One games that run on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing network.
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Sources told Neowin the service could send Xbox games to browsers at 60 frames per second, which is smoother than some native games on the Xbox One, and with full dashboard support -- just like consoles. Microsoft Research published a report in August on a project named Outatime, which looks to allow gameplay over Azure, The Guardian found.
Since the cloud does the heavy lifting, the resulting stream would work just about anywhere: on Internet Explorer or Chrome, or even on smaller devices like smartphones.
This news comes about a year after Microsoft showed off a version of Halo 4 running from the cloud. The Verge then reported that Microsoft had kept latency at playable levels, even on Windows Phone devices.
Microsoft won’t be pioneering the streaming market. OnLive is a notable early example of streaming game data from cloud servers. A more current comparison might be Steam home streaming, which sends gameplay from one PC to another on a local network.
Right now, it’s not clear which service Microsoft’s would resemble the most. The company has yet to officially comment on the rumor.