Microsoft launched Xbox Cloud Gaming in Brazil and Mexico this Thursday. The feature is in open beta and offers more than 100 games available through Xbox Game Pass streaming from the cloud. Thus, gamers can play cloud-enabled titles on supported Windows PCs, Android phones and tablets, and Apple phones and tablets.
Xbox Cloud Gaming is launching in Australia and Japan on October 1st, as announced by Microsoft at Tokyo Game Show.
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The feature relies on Microsoft‘s cloud solution Azure, one of its flagships from the corporate market.
Cloud gaming is powered by custom Xbox Series X consoles, which means these games are being played on an Xbox in the cloud and streamed to players. This architecture brings faster load times and improved frame rates to the gameplay experience, according to Microsoft.
In a press release, the company also states: “We aspire to empower everyone to play the games they want, with the people they want, anywhere they want.”
The expansion of the service allows Microsoft to reach an audience of over one billion people in 26 countries.
Cloud games reinforce the subscription model
Xbox Cloud Gaming also bolsters Microsoft‘s bet on subscription models as one of the main drivers for its gaming platform. To access xCloud (as the feature is also called), players need a monthly subscription to Game Pass Ultimate.
This way, users have the ability to continue their Gears 5 or Sea of Thieves campaigns on an entry-level laptop even if it’s not a gaming rig or other less powerful smartphone or tablet. The players will also have access to other upcoming games, such as Halo, Forza Horizon 5, and Back 4 Blood.
According to a survey from Instituto Datafolha, the Brazilian gaming market represents more than 67 million customers. The data was released on August of 2020 and requested by Brasil Game Show (BGS) — the biggest gaming event in the country.
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An evaluation by Newzoo consultancy points out that the Brazilian mobile games market alone is expected to move US$ 1 billion in 2021.
Mexico is the second-largest gaming market in the region, generating around US$900 million in revenue. By making its titles more accessible to mobile users in Brazil and Mexico through cloud gaming, Microsoft strengthens its Xbox brand and directly engages consumers from a different segment.
Newzoo’s survey also reveals that the number of players in Latin America grew by 5.4% between 2020 and 2021.
