How to Use Game Pass Ultimate to Play Xbox Games on Your Android Phone
Your Game Pass Ultimate subscription allows you to download a variety of free games to your Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, or even your PC, but it also allows you to use cloud gaming to play a variety of Xbox games on your Android phone. This service was originally known as Project xCloud while it was in beta, but the xCloud name was retired when Microsoft rolled out Xbox Cloud Gaming with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Here’s how to stream Xbox One and Series X/S games on your Android phone:
What You Need to Play Xbox Cloud Games
Xbox Cloud Gaming is available as a part of an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, so you’ll need to have an active membership to play games on your compatible device. You also need the Xbox Game Pass app and a fast connection to the internet. Here are all the requirements to play Xbox games on your compatible device with Xbox Cloud Gaming and an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription:
Game Pass: You need to have an active Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. If you haven’t yet upgraded to Game Pass Ultimate, it’s a great deal with a lot of features. It brings together Xbox Live Gold, Game Pass, EA All Access, Project xCloud, and more into one subscription service. Game Pass app: In addition to an active subscription, you also need to download and install the free Game Pass app. A compatible device: Your Android device must be running Android version 6.0 or newer, and it needs to have Bluetooth version 4.0. That covers most Android phones currently in active use, but your experience will be better the newer and faster your phone is. Xbox Cloud Gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is also available for Windows 10 PCs, iPhones, and iPads. An Xbox Wireless Controller: You can use an Xbox One controller with Bluetooth, so the Xbox One S revision, Elite, etc. You can also use an Xbox Series X|S controller, or any other Bluetooth-enabled controller that works with your device. For iOS devices, Microsoft recommends the Backbone One for iOS Xbox controller and the Razer Kishi Universal Gaming Controller for iOS. Fast internet: Microsoft recommends a 5Ghz Wi-Fi connection or a mobile data connection that provides rock-solid download speeds of at least 10Mbps. Slower speeds will result in unresponsive gameplay, and may even result in not being able to stream at all. Geographic area: Cloud gaming isn’t available everywhere, so you have to be in an approved country to access it. There’s a full list available from Microsoft.
Additional Considerations
While most games require a controller, there are some games that have been optimized for touchscreen play. For example, you can stream Dead Cells through Game Pass Ultimate without a controller, as on-screen controls have been added. Additionally, you can technically stream games on a mobile connection, but it’s very bandwidth-intensive. In the same way that streaming movies and shows from services like Netflix and Hulu can eat through your data, streaming games with Game Pass Ultimate consumes more than 2GB of data per hour. If you don’t have an unlimited data plan, you’ll need to keep that in mind and be careful to stay within your limits or stick to streaming when you can connect to Wi-Fi.
