Sources speaking to Neowin claim Microsoft wants to bring Xbox games to your browser. The platform would essentially work like Sony’s PlayStation now, but could potentially offer one huge feature that’s tormented streaming game services in the past: lag. Through a new project called DeLorean, Microsoft may have figured out how to eliminate latency by predicting what’s going to happen next in the game; the software renders frames before an event even occurs, improving the streaming experience to the point where it’s as if the game is in your machine.
In the future, you may not need a big black box with Xbox branding to play Xbox games,according to tech news blog Neowin; the site reports that Microsoft is currently testing the ability for users of an as-of-yet-unannounced service to play Xbox games via their web browser. If details are accurate, the service will function similar to OnLive, the cloud-based platform that renders games via its own hardware before streaming them to users at home. According to an unnamed source, Xbox 360 titles and the 360 dashboard will both run in-browser, with games outputting at about 60 frames per second. Neowin reports that Xbox One games are also in the works, but cautions that – like many tech research projects – the service may never make it into the public’s hands. Joystiq has reached out to Microsoft for comment. In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye on this rumor and let you know if anything changes.
