https://xcancel.com/redphx/status/1996047004494168534
Redphx, developer of the excellent Better xCloud app, has been following Microsoft’s moves on the Xbox Cloud Gaming platform quite closely. He tracks games that are hitting the service, either via Xbox Game Pass or Xbox “Stream Your Own Game,” but also for the first time recently, games that are actually being removed from the service.
Microsoft seems to have lost the distribution rights for Dragon Quest Builders 2, Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, and Mechstermination Force.
Up until now, the only other game Redphx was able to track as being removed was ElecHead, which was later reinstated.
Removed:
- DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2
- Infinity Strash: DRAGON QUEST The Adventure of Dai
- Mechstermination Force
It’s unclear why games might be getting removed from Xbox Cloud Gaming this way. It could be that Microsoft added them by mistake in the first place, having not properly acquired the rights to distribute them this way. First I thought it could be due to particularly low usage, but that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given how many other games are being added there.
Redphx also uncovered another interesting morsel of news from Xbox Cloud Gaming recently, though, which might hint at a broader redesign for the interface.
Redphx found a promotional video and a URL that activates a new interface for Xbox Cloud Gaming, and there’s also a promo video that contained a brief flash of what the layout might look like. Part of me has been wondering if this interface might not simply be for cloud, but Xbox PC in general.
Right now, the Xbox PC app interface is eventually going to be the interface for the next-gen Xbox console, using the Windows 11 Full Screen App experience seen on the Xbox Ally and other devices. The Xbox PC app right now is simply a big advertisement for Xbox Game Pass, but that would have to change a fair bit if it eventually comes to encompass everything your console is and does.
In the screengrab from the promo image above, you can see the layout actually looks a bit more similar to the Xbox PC app, rather than Xbox Cloud Gaming. There’s also the back button, as well as the large feature content panels on the right — other aspects present on Xbox PC, but not Xbox Cloud Gaming. Instead of Xbox PC app icons on the left, we now have two new panels. One for friends by the looks of it, as well as another for your play history.