How many players does Xbox Cloud Gaming have?

Xbox Cloud Gaming now has over 10 million players 

  It’s no secret that Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming are enjoying a period of success, but Microsoft is typically cagey over actual numbers. Especially for the cloud portion, with no sign of real data in the company’s most recent earnings report. But at build, Microsoft’s annual developer conference, company CEO, Satya Nadella, casually declared over 10 million people are playing Xbox Cloud Gaming.

 Cloud gaming is still very much in its infancy, Microsoft has been there since the early days. But with over 10 million players in 26 countries, the product formerly known as x Cloud is clearly doing very well.

 Part of that is likely down to the marketing, with Xbox Cloud Gaming built into certain tiers of the Xbox Game Pass subscription plan. Game Pass is extremely good value with day one releases for first-party Xbox titles that also usually includes the cloud. It also brings the latest generation of games and hardware to basically any device, with the recent upgrade to Xbox Series X-based server blades.

 Indeed, the cloud meant that owners of the Xbox One could enjoy Microsoft Flight Simulator, something which otherwise wouldn’t have been possible. And they can play it on their older consoles at the same quality as those who have an Xbox Series X.

 The cloud library is constantly growing, too, and those who want to play on mobile devices can now enjoy a range of those titles with custom touch controls. The latest of those is Fortnite, which doesn’t even require an Xbox Game Pass subscription to play, it’s free to all. Nadella re-confirmed Xbox’s intention to add more titles in this vein to Xbox Cloud Gaming in the future. It would be good to see access to the cloud also continue to expand, given its popularity and Microsoft’s prowess in cloud computing.

  Project Keystone is Microsoft's affordable Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming stick, but don't expect it anytime soon. Project Keystone is Microsoft's affordable Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming stick, but don't expect it anytime soon. Microsoft has confirmed that it is working on an affordable streaming device capable of streaming Xbox games through the cloud.

 Windows central reports that it received confirmation from Microsoft that its streaming dongle - code named 'Project Keystone' - is meant to be an easy and affordable option for people that want to play and access games on Xbox Cloud Gaming.

 "Our vision for Xbox Cloud Gaming is unwavering, our goal is to enable people to play the games they want, on the devices they want, anywhere they want," a Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Central. "As announced last year, we've been working on a game-streaming device, code name Keystone, that could be connected to any TV or monitor without the need for a console." 

 Microsoft also told Windows Central that it has decided to "pivot away" from its current iteration of Project Keystone and will "take [its] learnings and refocus [its] efforts on a new approach that will allow [it] to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world."