Microsoft Streams Halo 4 To Demonstrate Cloud Gaming

Microsoft’s Halo franchise is set in space, but the cloud is where today’s most interesting advancements seem to be happening for the Mast Chief-helmed video game series.

Microsoft has long been suspected to have been working on its own brand of cloud streaming technology for Xbox software, and the latest reports suggest they’re making progress on that front. 

The Verge writes that sources familiar with Microsoft’s internal machinations describe a demonstration by company officials that showed Xbox 360 blockbuster Halo 4 running smoothly via network streaming on both a PC (presumably running Windows 8) and a Windows Phone device, specifically the 4″ Nokia Lumia 520.

We understand that Microsoft is building the service as a way to stream games to its Windows devices. Microsoft’s demonstration included a Windows Phone with a Xbox controller attached through an accessory, and a low-end hybrid PC. Microsoft has not yet branded the cloud games service, and officials stressed it was simply prototype at this stage.

It seems unlikely Microsoft will have their cloud game streaming service ready in time for the launch of PlayStation Cloud, which Sony has announced for release in early 2014. 

This could be the company’s answer to making the vast library of Xbox 360 backward compatible with the forthcoming Xbox One console. It could be utilized for “more complicated things like rendering full games like a Gaikai and delivering it to the box.”