News video games 31 March 2021, 20:50

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Introduce Backward Compatibility on Android

Microsoft has announced that from today the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service enables us to play last-gen games, via backward compatibility and cloud, on mobile devices.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Microsoft has added backward compatible Xbox and X360 titles to its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate mobile service;
Starting today, we can play Fallout: New Vegas, The Elder Scrolls III and IV, Gears of War 2 and 3 or Fable II on Android phones and tablets via the cloud;
All we need to play is an Xbox controller which connects to a mobile device via bluetooth.

Already at the end of the XONE era, the Redmond giant showed that in the future it will bet on the subscription model. Since then, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is constantly being developed and enriched with new games. One of the stages of its evolution turned out to be the availability on Android mobile devices. Now, as part of backward compatibility we can also play slightly older games on phones and tablets.

All thanks to the cloud offered by Xbox Cloud Gaming. Thanks to this service, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription holders will be ableto access games released on two older generations of consoles, that is Xbox and X360. At the moment, there are 16 titles available - among them Fallout: New Vegas, The Elder Scrolls III and IV, Gears of War 2 and 3 or Fable II (see the full list below) - but more will be available soon.

List of games available on mobile devices in backward compatibility:

All we need to play is an Xbox controlles that connects to our mobile device via Bluetooth. Some of the titles, such as both parts of Viva Pinata, can also be controlled with touch screens. It's worth mentioning that over 100 games offered by Xbox Game Pass Ultimate are also available via the cloud on Android phones and tablets. Some of them cannot be played even on PC. However, Xbox Cloud Gaming itself is still in beta testing and will be developed on an ongoing basis.

This step seems to be a good and - importantly - logical move on Microsoft's part. It also reflects the words of Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox brand, who's told us time and time again that games are the company's priority, not the hardware we run them on. There's no better proof to back up his words - if it weren't for that, Fable II would be available exclusively on Microsoft consoles.

Game Pass - often referred to as "Netflix for gamers" - started out on consoles, then appeared on PCs and over time offered a growing catalog of titles. Currently, a monthly subscription gives us access to games from other developers, including industry giants such as EA and Bethesda, which may soon be joined by Ubisoft. Who knows, maybe the next step will be to make Microsoft's classics also available in the cloud on PC? Many players among more than 18 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers would certainly benefit from such an opportunity. The question is how this change will affect the way we play, since just having this type of subscription means that we spend more time in the virtual world.