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Xbox has officially brought Cloud Gaming to the Steam Deck. This has got fans excited to try out games on xcloud and Game Pass on their new handheld device. However, with Xbox and Valve’s collaboration in Cloud Gaming bringing Game Pass titles to the Deck, fans are left wondering if Game Pass could come natively to the Deck in the future.
Game Pass, the subscription-based service by Xbox, is undoubtedly the best deal in gaming, even in its limited Cloud Gaming state on Steam Deck. It brings hundreds of top-tier games across PC and Xbox consoles (One and Series X|S) for players to enjoy. Game Pass also brings Cloud Gaming, which lets users stream games to their mobile devices with cloud gaming.
Xbox officially brings Game Pass Cloud Gaming to Steam Deck
Ever since its introduction a couple of years back, Game Pass has established itself as the best subscription-based service in the video gaming industry. With the success of the service, Xbox has evolved beyond a console manufacturer into a multi-platform publisher, with games launching simultaneously on both PC and Xbox consoles.
One of the most recent additions to the Game Pass is Cloud Gaming. Originally Project xCloud, Cloud Gaming lets players stream games on mobile devices, with the service first coming to Android and then iOS later down the line.
Recently, Xbox officially brought Cloud Gaming to the Steam Deck, following the same method as the iOS client. Players will be able to use the Edge browser to play cloud games directly from their Steam UI.
Microsoft published a simple and easy guide along with official artwork for players to add Xbox Cloud Gaming to their Steam Library and get it working.
However, there are a couple of things players must take note of in regards to Cloud Gaming. As it is streaming the title from a server, as opposed to playing the title natively on the device, it will require a high-speed internet connection.
Furthermore, Xbox Cloud Gaming is quite limited, available only in a handful of countries, as is the Steam Deck. All in all, the countries with both Cloud Gaming Capabilities and Steam Deck availability are as follows:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- United States
Could Xbox bring Game Pass natively to the Steam Deck?
Fans have been clamoring for Game Pass on Steam Deck since its reveal. Given its handheld nature, the Steam Deck would be perfect for trying out hundreds of games on Game Pass. However, it may not be as simple as it seems.
Both Xbox and Valve have worked together before and are known as consumer-friendly companies in the gaming industry. Furthermore, Xbox games have been released on Steam, and the Deck won’t have any issues running most of them (barring anti-cheat limitations on titles like Halo Master Chief Collection and Infinite).
So what is stopping Xbox from putting Game Pass on Deck? The answer is simple, revenue share.
Putting Game Pass on Valve's handheld platform will undoubtedly make it a hit, urging PC players to try out the handheld form and Xbox players looking to take their games on the go to pick up Game Pass on Deck.
However, revenue share is a major issue. Like other platform owners, Valve takes a 30% cut on anything sold on the Steam Store. While Xbox does sell their titles on Steam, Game Pass remains exclusive to their own platform, which means they are taking 100% of the profits from the sale. Bringing Cloud Gaming through Edge browser and as a non-steam app on the Deck bypasses this revenue sharing issue.
But what about the future? Could Xbox realistically bring the Game Pass on the Deck natively, letting games run natively utilizing Photon? The answer depends on the popularity of both the Deck and the demand for Game Pass titles on it. If there is enough demand for it, both Xbox and Valve could look to fulfill it as it will only increase the sales of the Deck and Game Pass on it.
