Xbox cloud gaming just got much better on Microsoft's Surface Duo

Xbox deject gaming just got much better on Microsoft's Surface Duo

Microsoft Surface Duo review: A beautiful disaster

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

Playing a game with touchscreen controls can be cumbersome, but Microsoft has come up up with an intriguing solution that turns a Surface Duo into a portable Xbox Series 10.

Xbox Game Laissez passer Ultimate subscribers can play dozens of games over the cloud with touch on controls. And thank you to the Surface Duo's dual screens, Microsoft has effectively fabricated an Xbox version of a Nintendo 3DS.

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Microsoft Surface Duo review
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The characteristic works when you lot use the foldable in landscape way (or Compose Mode, as Microsoft calls it), with one screen positioned in a higher place the other. The height half displays the game and the lesser has touch controls. The comparisons to the Nintendo 3DS are obvious, only this time with sharper-looking games on a much more expensive device.

One big advantage of playing games this fashion is that you'll be able to see the action more clearly. Unlike when you lot use touch on controls on another device, your thumbs won't make it the way. Xbox's Larry "MajorNelson" Hryb posted a video on Twitter showcasing what gaming is similar on the Surface Duo.

Microsoft has brought some other improvements to the Xbox Game Laissez passer app every bit function of this update. It'll be easier to view content and movement through menus, and the app organizes everything into columns on Surface Duo. You lot'll need to brand sure Xbox Game Pass and your Surface Duo are updated to utilise the dual-screen impact controls.

Microsoft has added custom touch controls to more than l Xbox cloud gaming titles in contempo months. Afterwards debuting the characteristic with Minecraft Dungeons last September, the Xbox squad has brought dedicated touch controls setups to Gears v, Overcooked 2, Streets of Rage four and many other games.

Playing games on a telephone is so much better than it used to exist. Both iPhone and Android back up a wide range of controllers, including Sony's PS5 DualSense and the Xbox Wireless Controller. Controllers like Courage 1, which has a built-in phone mount, are proving to be popular as well.

The rise of cloud gaming has been a catalyst for mobile gaming growth over the last few years. Along with Xbox cloud gaming, PlayStation Now, Nvidia GeForce At present, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna and Prsec have all tilted the market in the direction of high-end mobile gaming.

In full general, this Surface Duo characteristic won't work likewise as an external controller. Information technology might be best suited for games that don't crave dual thumbsticks or shoulder buttons, and titles that don't demand lightning-quick reactions. Yet, the update will give players another handy style to play games on their telephone without janky bear on controls on a single screen or having to lug around a controller.

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Kris writes about tech, streaming, games, esports, film and much more. He'due south a Scot who lives in Montreal with his partner and many, many plants.