Microsofts Project xCloud game streaming service preview to go live in October 2019

With only a day left to go for this year's E3 event to start in Los Angeles, California, Microsoft announced at the Xbox briefing its new game streaming service. Named Project xCloud, the cloud-based video game streaming service will allow Xbox One users to play their existing games remotely on PCs, tablets, and smartphones. According to Microsoft, the new service will roll out in preview by October this year. When it goes live, Project xCloud will be up against competing game streaming services like Google's recently announced Stadia and Sony's PlayStation Now.

According to Microsoft's blog post on the matter, over 3,000 titles that are currently available on Xbox One will be available for remote gameplay on Project xCloud when the service goes live later this year. Microsoft is currently planning to conduct public trails of Project xCloud. The maker of the popular Xbox gaming console will make the service available globally using its widespread presence of Azure servers. According to Microsoft, game streaming using Project xCloud should be possible over a 4G network. “Currently, the test experience is running at 10 megabits per second,” adds Microsoft.

“We are testing Project xCloud today. The test runs on devices (mobile phones, tablets) paired with an Xbox Wireless Controller through Bluetooth, and it is also playable using touch input. The immersive nature of console and PC games often requires controls that are mapped to multiple keys, buttons, sticks and triggers. We are developing a new, game-specific touch input overlay that provides maximum response in a minimal footprint for players who choose to play without a controller,” wrote Microsoft in its blog post.

At the Game Developers Conference in March, Google announced the official name of its game streaming platform. Named Stadia, it differs from Project xCloud in some ways. The biggest difference right now is that Stadia works independently of any proprietary game consoles. Project xCloud, on the other hand, works in conjunction with an Xbox One console. Google recently announced that Stadia would go live in November for $10 (Rs 700 approx) a month with additional game purchases. Microsoft has yet to announce a price for Project xCloud.

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Samsung tablet with Snapdragon 855, Android Pie spotted on Geekbench

Last month, it was reported that Samsung is working on flagship tablets with model numbers SM-T860 and SM-T865. The latter has now been spotted on Geekbench with Qualcomm’s flagship chipset Snapdragon 855. While some rumours say that these new tablets are the variants of the Galaxy Tab S5, others claim they are refreshed models of the Galaxy Tab S5e that was launched in select markets earlier this year.

The Geekbench listing reveals that the upcoming high-end tablet with SM-T865 model number is equipped with 6GB of RAM and run on Android 9.0 Pie. Having the latest stable Android OS means that the tablet will ship with Samsung’s One UI out-of-the-box. The tablet scores 3,506 points on single-core score and 9,788 points on multi-core benchmarking tests. There is no surety on the names of the tablet, but given the flagship internals, it could be the Galaxy Tab S5.

Samsung’s last flagship Android tablet was the Galaxy Tab S4 and it was made official in August last year. It features a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display and offers a 16:10 screen ratio. It has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Octa-Core processor under the hood, and is offered with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. There is a 13MP camera with an LED flash on the back and an 8MP shooter on the front. The rear camera can record UHD 4K videos at 30fps. In the audio department, the Galaxy Tab S4 is equipped with four speakers tuned by AKG and Dolby Atmos technology. The tablet is backeda 7,300mAh battery which is claimed to provide up to 16 hours of video playback.

The last Samsung tablet to launch in India was the Galaxy Tab Active2. It is powered by the Samsung Exynos 7870 SoC and features an 8-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It is equipped with 3GB of RAM, coupled with 16GB of internal storage. The tablet comes equipped with an 8MP rear camera that has Auto Focus support and a 5MP front-facing sensor. The tablet is MIL-STD 810G certified, and is also rated IP68 for dust and water resistance.  Samsung claims that the 4450mAh removable battery can deliver around 11 hours of battery backup on a full charge.

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PUBG Lite for less-powerful PCs will soon launch in India: All you need to know

PUBG Mobile is doing rather well as the game developers recently announced it has over 100 million monthly active followers. The PC version of the title seems to have taken the backseat and as per Steam charts, average peak player count over the last 30 days was just over 815,000. While the PC version of the game is paid, there is also PUBG Lite that can run on less powerful systems, works in areas with patchy internet connectivity and is free to play. PUBG Lite will soon launch in India and the game creators have announced its first event as well. 

As per a PUBG Lite Facebook post, the game event will take place at the upcoming Gamer Connect (GC) event in Kolkata. Players can win some exclusive in-game items by visiting the PUBG Lite booth during GC Kolkata, clicking a photo at their booth and posting it on their Facebook page with the hashtag  #PUBGLITE #PLAY_PUBGLITE_TOGETHER. Additionally, they need to like the official PUBG Lite Facebook page and fill out a Google form at the venue to receive gift codes via email on June 13. 

PUBG on PC is a fairly demanding title that has a minimum requirement of 8GB RAM, 30GB of storage, an  i5-4430 / AMD FX-6300 processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 2GB or AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB GPU. PUBG Lite, on the other hand, can run on a PC with 4GB RAM, requires 4GB storage, 2.4GHz Core i3 processor and Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU. The title has been on Closed Beta Test since October and the beta is most likely to be extended to India as well. As mentioned earlier, PUBG Lite is free to play. It includes the Erangel map and one will get to play in Solo, Duo and Squad modes, in Third Person Perspective (TPP). It is not yet known if or when the other maps or new game modes will be added to PUBG Lite.

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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Announced by Microsoft With Access to Xbox Game Pass for PC, Xbox Live Gold

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with access to over 100 Xbox and PC games is available at a monthly charge of Rs. 999 in India ($14.99 in the US).

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Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Gameplay Trailer Shows Off New Force Abilities, New Droid, and a Returning Rogue One Character

At its pre-E3 2019 event, EA released a 14-minute gameplay trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, showcasing new Force abilities, alongside new and returning characters such as the droid BD-1, and Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera from Rogue One.

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Microsoft Acquires Game Studio Double Fine

Microsoft has acquired Double Fine, the studio behind top-notch games like Psychonauts and Broken Age, for an undisclosed sum.

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Microsoft Unveils Next-Gen Project Scarlett Xbox Console for Release in 2020

Microsoft unveiled on Sunday its next-generation Xbox console, known as "Project Scarlett," which is set to hit store shelves during the 2020 holiday season.

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