Gaming is getting a whole lot more flexible this week as both Microsoft and Sony announce new options for remote play
Gamers who want to play away from their consoles were previously limited to certain devices and certain types of internet connections, but they're now being greatly broadened.
Microsoft's Xbox Remote Play has been available on mobile devices for some time, but the functionality has finally been brought over to PC, with their Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Xbox One games able to be accessed from the internet.
Users will be able to browse and play their games, chat with friends and change settings from within the Xbox App on the PC, essentially mirroring the Xbox experience, wherever they are.
Additional updates allow the games to stream at 1080p and up to 60fps depending on connection speeds with "select Xbox 360 and Xbox Original games".
There's also been an upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate - Microsoft's premium subscription service, sometimes referred to as 'the Netflix of games' - in that all subscribers can now access its titles from the cloud as it's moving out of beta testing.
Cloud gaming allows the option to play the games quickly without the need to install them and there are hundreds of Game Pass library games available through the service.
Meanwhile, Sony is launching its second major software update for the PlayStation 5 later today (NZ time).
As part of that release PS Remote Play will be able to be accessible via mobile data connections for the first time.
The PS Remote Play app allows the streaming of PS4 and PS5 games. Players will be able to select their preferred video quality to try and manager their mobile data usage.
Other updates for the PS5 include 3D audio support for built-in TV speakers and the ability to expand the system's storage.
The M.2 SSD storage expansion opens up the previously locked slot for all users, allowing the onboard 825GB of storage to be increased to store and play more PS5 and PS4 games.
However, Sony has warned that there are strict requirements for the external drives, including the need for effective heat dissipation with a cooling structure, such as a heatsink.
A full list of the requirements is available on the PlayStation website.
