Xbox Cloud Gaming Beta joins Stadia in the web browser and you can play it right now

Less than a month ago, we reported that you’d soon be able to play Xbox games directly through your web browser. This meant that Chromebook gamers specifically would have loads more to play in addition to Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now, and other cloud game streaming services that are already available to them. Well, that time has now come! You can now head over to the Xbox Cloud Gaming Beta website, and sign in to start playing loads of games from anywhere!

Some of the games include classics like Banjo-Kazooie, Fable, Perfect Dark Zero, Morrowind, and Doom, and even more popular, modern games like Mass Effect Andromeda, A Plague Tale Innocence, Black Desert, Dragon Quest XI, The Sims 4, and more. While there are several games on the platform that also exist on Stadia, there’s plenty here that is more attractive for the hardcore gamer, and it’s all accessible with just a few clicks.

Please keep in mind that in order to try out the Xbox Cloud Gaming Beta, you’ll need to be subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which will run you $14.99 per month, but you can still try it out for just a dollar first! Supported gamepads include your existing Xbox controller, of course, Sony’s DualShock 4, the Razer Kishi, the SteelSeries Stratus XL, several 8BitDo controllers, and more.

Playing on your Chromebook will present you with a message stating that you ought to visit the site from a supported browser, but I was able to play using Chrome with no issues. Just know that “You may experience quality degradation or gameplay issues”. I’m not sure if that’s Microsoft’s way of getting people to try Edge (Google is guilty of this tactic as well), but you can bypass that warning and get to the fun stuff without concern.

All of these subscription services will no doubt add up, and gamers will have to decide which ones they’ll stick with if they want to protect their wallets. Stadia Pro, Nvidia GeForce Now, Ubisoft+, and Amazon Luna come out to be a heavy chunk of cash each month, and it’s clear that some services offer better value than others at this point. As a Playstation gamer for life, I didn’t expect to fall in love with Xbox Game Pass, but it doesn’t require me to purchase the company’s hardware (I’ll never go that far!) and I can still enjoy some exclusive games, so I’ve been subbed for a handful of months now with no intention of canceling thanks to its new accessibility. If you try it out on your Chromebook or browser, let us know your experience in the comments below!