Xbox cloud games will soon follow you across Xbox, PC, and Windows handhelds

Microsoft is starting to test updates to the Xbox PC app and Xbox consoles that will allow cloud games to follow you across devices. A new play history section of the Xbox PC app and Xbox console home UI will display cloud games as part of the recently played titles list and this will roam across Xbox consoles, PCs, and handhelds.

Cloud-playable games are now starting to show inside play history or the library on the Xbox PC app. “This includes all cloud playable titles, even console exclusives spanning from the original Xbox to Xbox Series X|S, whether you own the title or access it through Game Pass,” explains Lily Wang, product manager of Xbox experiences.

Your recent games, including cloud ones, will soon follow you across devices — complete with cloud-powered game saves. So if you played an Xbox game on your console that’s not natively available on PC, it will still show up in your recent games list and be playable through Xbox Cloud Gaming on Windows.

Cloud-playable games on the Xbox PC app can be found from a new filter in the library section, and a new “play history” section will appear at the end of the “jump back in” list on the home screen of the Xbox PC app. “While the large tiles highlight games you’ve recently played on your current device, the play history tile shows games you’ve played across any Xbox device, making it easy to pick up where you left off,” says Wang.

This same play history section will appear on the main Xbox console interface, too — which could mean we’ll eventually see PC games listed here and playable through Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft currently uses the chips from Xbox Series X to power special server blades for Xbox Cloud Gaming, but internal emails in the FTC v. Microsoft case in 2023 revealed that Microsoft has been investigating streaming PC games over the cloud. With Microsoft moving Xbox and PC closer together for its next-gen consoles, I’m expecting to see Xbox Cloud Gaming support PC games and provide better bitrates and resolutions, too.