Microsoft's Project xCloud was first launched as a preview in October 2019 for a limited number of countries. Microsoft has now expanded the preview to Western Europe as announced by Atherine Gluckstein, GM & Head of Product for Project xCloud in a recent press release.

Bringing the Project xCloud preview to gamers across Western Europe is a top priority for us. We know gaming is an important way for people to remain connected, particularly during these times of social distancing, but we also recognize how internet bandwidth has been impacted with strain on regional networks as large volumes of people responsibly stay home and go online.It has been said too many times, but it's true we are living in unprecedented times due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Here at Xbox, we look to our products to bring joy and connection at all times and particularly during these weeks and months when we're asked to stay at home. We know we're in this together and the support we can provide one another is of critical importance now more than ever.

Phil Spencer has talked often about what he sees as the unique power of games to bring people together, to entertain, to inspire and connect. We all believe that in our current circumstances that's even more true, and we hope that the freedom to discover and play with Project xCloud brings even more joy and connection.

Project xCloud, which has continued to grow and evolve since preview started last year, is our game-streaming technology allowing players to play console games from the cloud on an Android phone or tablet. As we promised at X019 in November, we've had our sights set on expanding the Project xCloud preview this year to more countries.

With that in mind, we continue to evaluate the COVID-19 situation and will begin rolling out the Project xCloud preview across 11 Western European countries when we are confident it is sensible to do so. We will take a measured approach to help conserve internet access, beginning the preview in each market with a limited number of people and adding more participants over time.

Upcoming Project xCloud preview countries:

• Belgium
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Spain
• Sweden

Today, we're opening up registration for Android customers in these preview markets and asking players across Western Europe who want to participate in Preview to sign up, then when we're ready to begin, you'll receive a notification email with further instructions. We'll continue to evaluate the situation and will follow up as soon as we can to confirm when selected participants can begin to test the technology and help build the future of game streaming with us. For those interested in joining the Project xCloud preview, please visit www.xbox.com/projectxcloud and register today.

Thank you for your patience at this time. Your participation and feedback is critical as we learn what it means to bring you the very best game streaming platform. We can't wait to go on this journey with you.