Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge browser will soon be available on Xbox, and the company has now added the hugely important mouse and keyboard support, paving the way for PC games to be streamed to Xbox consoles.
Xbox testers in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring can now test this new version of Edge and try out a mouse for the first time in the console version of the browser.
According to a report by The Verge, the early beta browser works as expected with a few inevitable bugs that Microsoft will fix over time. As per the report, basic mouse navigation, scrolling and right-clicking all work the way they are intended to, along with more demanding functions like Word Online and Discord.
When you consider what this means for the future of streaming games to an Xbox via a browser, things get really interesting. Testers at The Verge were able to stream Google Stadia and PC games directly to the Xbox via the new browser. This is possible because of Parsec, a remote desktop app that lets you stream contents of your PC to a browser. Via Parsec, testers at The Verge have enjoyed Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Death Stranding, Dota 2 and other PC games that are not otherwise playable on Xbox.
While the new feature is neat, it isn’t the most ideal at the moment. Using apps like Parsec to display your PC on an Xbox leads to latency and connectivity issues with increased input delay. However, that might not persist for long. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, recently stated that the company’s Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) service would bring full PC games to the Xbox. This gives hope that maybe, just maybe, we might be able to officially play Dota 2 or League on Xbox soon.
Source: The Verge
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