Microsoft Announces Project xCloud for Developers

Microsoft has announced a new xCloud-based technology that will enable developers to test their games without having to have access to physical Xbox developer kits, allowing them to create and test games remotely.

It’s a good response to current times, with a number of people now forced to work at home due to COVID-19 and associated Stay-at-Home orders and quarantine practices.

“By giving developers access to our PC Content Test App (PC CTA) they can remotely connect to their Xbox Development Kits from their PC, allowing them to test, play and iterate as if they were in the office. It also prevents them from having to download daily builds to local hardware in the home, which can often take hours,” Microsoft stated.

Infinity Ward, Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Rare, Turn 10, Undead Labs and Eidos Montreal are among some of the major studios that have been using this technology since it went live.

“Using the PC Content Test app enables us to bring back our old workflows wholesale. Installs to kits on-site are now minutes rather than the hours it takes to download remotely, and we have the flexibility to react when something goes wrong,” Rare’s technical director Sean Davies said.