Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming to the Meta Quest 2 store. At today’s Meta Connect livestream, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed the news.
Since Cloud Gaming launched in 2020 as an attachment to Game Pass, Microsoft’s game streaming service has gradually expanded in terms of player base and platforms. As of this past summer, and earlier today, the service will be featured on Logitech handhelds and Google Chromebooks.
“When Xbox Cloud Gaming launches on the Meta Quest Store, you’ll be able to hook up an Xbox controller to your headset and play console games from the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate library on a massive 2D screen, like having a private movie theater available at all times,” wrote Meta.
With how popular Game Pass has become over the years, releasing an extension of its service on a VR platform is another way to expand the userbase. Even though the games on Xbox Cloud aren’t native to VR, just the act of playing them in the space would be incentive to either be a subscriber or buy a VR headset to try out the experience.
As far as when Xbox will bring its service to Meta Quest, there isn’t yet a firm release date. But Meta said it will share more information “as soon as possible.”
Microsoft may have found its VR golden goose
During the late 2010s, Microsoft made gestures towards the VR market, but nothing really stuck. Microsoft itself released mixed reality headsets that worked with Steam and featured a Halo tech demo, and had plans to integrate those headsets with the Xbox One X. But those plans were scrapped in 2018.
As VR was getting off the gaming ground, Xbox head Phil Spencer said back in 2016 that the console maker would take a wait and see approach on the technology as a games platform.
Xbox using technology to branch out its ecosystem is nothing new, as it also has a similar with relationship with Samsung’s smart TVs. Even if that kind of expansion doesn’t lead to more Xbox systems being sold, it allows smart TV owners or Meta Quest users to reap the benefits without spending even more hundreds of dollars.
Outside of Xbox, Microsoft is no stranger to partnerships with other companies. Later during the Connect event, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Teams would be coming to Meta Quest devices, along with fellow services Windows 365 and Office 365.
“As a platform company, our approach to workplace productivity and collaboration is to ensure the software experiences we deliver can benefit users on all their favorite devices,” wrote Microsoft.
The inclusion of productivity products such as Microsoft Word and Excel, along with Teams, reinforces Meta’s stance on its upcoming Quest Pro headset being made with a focus on work and professional offices. Meta’s upcoming headset will also place an emphasis on mixed reality, allowing people to gather in virtual work rooms and collaborate.