In 2024, you don’t need a console or a meaty PC to play Xbox games. All you really need is a controller, and a device capable of running the Xbox app, with its Cloud Streaming beta. As recently announced, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is the latest such device to get support for the Xbox app – so you can now plug one of these dongles into the back of your TV, and use it to stream games via Xbox Game Pass.
Over the last week, I’ve been testing this service, and while I haven’t been blown away, I have glimpsed the face of the near-distant future. When Australia sorts its internet issues, and high-speed internet is approachable and affordable for everyone, Xbox Cloud Streaming will be a strong offering indeed.
How to use Xbox Cloud Streaming on an Amazon Fire TV Stick
To set up Xbox Cloud Streaming via an Amazon Fire TV Stick (4K or 4K Max), you’ll need to plug the device into the back of your TV set or monitor, log into your Amazon account, and then head to the App Store. Here, you’ll be able to download the Xbox App.
Log into your Xbox account, purchase an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription if needed, and then you’ll be prompted to connect a viable controller: an Xbox Wireless Controller, a PlayStation DualSense, or a PlayStation DualShock 4.
Once your controller is connected, you’ll have access to the Xbox Game Pass library, with the vast majority of games on the platform available for streaming. As long as you have internet capable of speeds beyond 20 Mbps, you’ll be able to hop in to all the latest games, without needing to download them.
How game streaming feels on an Amazon Fire TV Stick
My first attempt at setting up Xbox Cloud Streaming on my Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max didn’t go well – but to explain why, context is needed. I’m connected to the Australian nbn at home, but service in multiple rooms is patchy. In my bedroom, the signal is fairly weak and while I’ve tried various extenders, ethernet cables, and passthrough connections, I can’t get a reliable signal without data bottlenecks.
Surprisingly, though, I was able to set up and run Xbox Cloud Streaming in this room. And in fact, the streaming service made special compensation for my particular issues, prioritising loading and smoothness of gameplay even when visuals were artefacting.
Playing Coral Island, I was able to run through levels at about 240p. The visuals were horrible and ugly, but I could still play the game, as everything else was running smoothly underneath the fuzz. I mention this as those with lower-speed internet may have hope, in this regard. I didn’t expect to be able to run Xbox Cloud Streaming in my bedroom at all – and the fact that it was smooth regardless of data bottlenecks was a big surprise.
Read: Xbox Cloud Gaming is now available on Amazon Fire TV Sticks
While it wasn’t the best first impression, it did reassure me that with a smoother connection, Xbox Cloud Streaming could go gangbusters. So, I moved to the only room in my home with a solid connection: the living room right above the router. Any time I’ve needed to download a game, I usually position my devices in this exact spot, with the proximity speeding the internet by 5-10x. (You can see me downloading games for review on an Asus ROG Ally and a Meta Quest 3 here. It really is a great spot for internet connection.)
In this position, with direct and uninterrupted access to the internet, Xbox Cloud Streaming was fairly solid. There was still a slight input lag of about 0.5 seconds, but I was able to play through levels of Deathloop, and the opening of Magical Delicacy with ease. Games loaded in quickly, and there was only minimal visual artefacting. Regardless of whether I was playing Deathloop “correctly” by sneaking, or if I was taking down guards, combat and exploration was visually crisp, and very enjoyable.
That said, the experience wasn’t perfect by any stretch. There were still various hiccups in delivery of data, with some artefacting briefly confusing me and interrupting chaotic stretches of combat. That’s even with an internet connection of 52.2Mps download / 18.0 Mbps upload. “Your connection is very fast,” my speedtest told me.
Despite those results, I was still having minor issues with Deathloop that were disturbing enough that I wouldn’t continue the game in Xbox Cloud Streaming mode. I’d much prefer to download it to my home console, and have it playing natively without the risk of disruption.
Magical Delicacy was much more pleasant, with this lighter-touch exploration and cooking game feeling great to play via Xbox Cloud Streaming. Environments remained consistently bright and pixel-perfect, and I was able to play through the first two hours without experiencing any detrimental interruptions.
What is the future of cloud streaming?
Even with this range of experiences, my time using Xbox Cloud Streaming on an Amazon Fire TV Stick was illuminating. There are only small steps that cloud streaming needs to take to obliterate consoles entirely – and while the technology isn’t quite there yet, the promise certainly is.
Australia faces unique issues with its internet, and Xbox Cloud Streaming is currently a victim of these challenges. But once improvements are made, I can certainly see the appeal of streaming over console downloads. Xbox Game Pass is a service designed as a smorgasbord of games. You should be able to hop in and pick what you like, and have these games be playable whenever you want them. That’s what cloud streaming offers.
As someone with relatively unstable internet, not having to download a whopping 20-80GB file to run the latest games was a massive blessing. I loved being able to hop into anything that caught my fancy – and I probably wouldn’t have revisited Deathloop if it meant waiting half a day for a download.
There’s also the matter of cost. Consoles are expensive. But with an Amazon Fire TV Stick, a controller, and an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, you can have access to quality games for about AUD $150. That could be a game changer for someone looking to try out gaming for the first time, or looking for a more affordable solution.
As it stands, internet woes are currently a major barrier to smoothness when it comes to cloud gaming – particularly for those who love crisp pixels – but there is certainly a better future coming for cloud gaming. When it arrives, it will be spectacular to see.
An Xbox Fire TV Stick 4K Max and an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription were provided by Amazon for the purposes of this review.
