ASUS today announced ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip, engineered with a striking aesthetic and powerful components for nonstop cloud gaming—with an immersive 144 Hz FHD display, accurate anti-ghosting keyboard and ultra-fast WiFi 6 technology. According to Gartner, "The rise of cloud gaming, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% from 2019 to 2025, will motivate many gamers to offload hardware to the cloud and rely on CSPs to provide the infrastructure to deliver these games." When emergent cloud-gaming services are factored in, it is clear that a vast and significant market is just waiting to be tapped—and that's where ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip makes its bold entrance.

The fresh, vibrant design features a dynamic, distinctive and daring look that's both stylish and durable, with exclusive color-blocked WASD keycaps to bring flair to online play. Coupled with access to leading cloud-gaming services, including NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) and Amazon Luna, ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip is set to energize this underserved audience—ready for all-new gaming adventures. Powering all the entertainment is up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16 GB of memory and immersive Harman Kardon audio.

Acer today debuts its first Chromebook optimized for Cloud gaming - the Acer Chromebook 516 GE. With it, customers can enjoy a top-tier gaming experience with instant access to full PC and console games powered by the cloud. The new Acer Chromebook 516 GE is powered by the latest technology and features that matter most to gamers - 12th Gen Intel Core processors, a fast 120 Hz display, an RGB keyboard with anti-ghosting technology, advanced DTS audio, and most importantly, support for leading cloud gaming platforms including the highest performance tier of NVIDIA's GeForce NOW, Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta), and Amazon Luna.

"The Acer Chromebook 516 GE sets the stage for a new era of Chromebooks with the focus squarely on gaming; it combines the ideal collection of gaming hardware, game-streaming support for NVIDIA GeForce NOW's top tier and easy access to popular game titles from the leading cloud gaming platforms," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. "Chromebooks have secured their position as an indispensable tool for education, work, entertainment and personal productivity, so now it's time to have more fun."

LG Electronics (LG) is expanding the gaming experience on its latest TVs, adding new cloud-gaming services to give users more choice, and a UI update that makes it easier to get in the game. These latest upgrades are representative of LG's continuing commitment to bringing gamer-centric content and capabilities to its industry-leading TVs.

Requiring no PC, console or game installations, cloud-gaming platforms make gaming more accessible than ever. Blacknut and Utomik Cloud, arriving on LG TVs in September and November, respectively, deliver a wealth of titles spanning classic AAA games, indie favorites, story-driven adventures, sports, strategy and more. Via monthly subscriptions, the two apps offer users the ability to select and instantly play any game from their extensive catalogs - both of which welcome new titles monthly.

Today, Logitech G and Tencent Games announced a partnership to bring a cloud gaming handheld to market later this year that will combine Logitech G's expertise in hardware with Tencent Games' expertise in software services. The new device will support multiple cloud gaming services, and both companies are working with the Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce NOW teams, so gamers can play AAA games when they are away from their console or PC.

Logitech G and Tencent Games share a mutual vision of the future of gaming and are committed to ensuring the quality of experience comes together seamlessly to deliver on the exciting promise of gaming from the cloud. Cloud gaming utilizes data center servers to stream video games to consumers. There's no need to download or install PC or console games. Instead, games are rendered and played on remote servers, and users interact with them locally on their devices.

Super Micro Computer, Inc., a global leader in enterprise computing, storage, networking, and green computing technology, is announcing future Total IT Solutions for availability with Android Cloud Gaming and Media Processing & Delivery. These new solutions will incorporate the Intel Data Center GPU, codenamed Arctic Sound-M, and will be supported on several Supermicro servers. Supermicro solutions that will contain the Intel Data Center GPUs codenamed Arctic Sound-M, include the 4U 10x GPU server for transcoding and media delivery, the Supermicro BigTwin system with up to eight Intel Data Center GPUs, codenamed Arctic Sound-M in 2U for media processing applications, the Supermicro CloudDC server for edge AI inferencing, and the Supermicro 2U 2-Node server with three Intel Data Center GPUs, codenamed Arctic Sound-M per node, optimized for cloud gaming. Additional systems will be made available later this year.

"Supermicro will extend our media processing solutions by incorporating the Intel Data Center GPU," said Charles Liang, President, and CEO, Supermicro. "The new solutions will increase video stream rates and enable lower latency Android cloud gaming. As a result, Android cloud gaming performance and interactivity will increase dramatically with the Supermicro BigTwin systems, while media delivery and transcoding will show dramatic improvements with the new Intel Data Center GPUs. The solutions will expand our market-leading accelerated computing offerings, including everything from Media Processing & Delivery to Collaboration, and HPC."

Today, we're excited to announce we're bringing Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) to the Xbox App on Windows 10 PCs for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in 22 countries who are part of the Insider program. Xbox Cloud Gaming with the Xbox App provides the same great Xbox experience you're used to: Play over 100 high-quality Xbox console games with your friends; pick up from a saved game you started on your Xbox; or try out a whole new game from the Xbox Game Pass library to decide if you want to download it to your console.

With Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can turn all types of PCs into a gaming device, from brand-new budget computers to older machines with low specs. All you need to do is connect a compatible controller via Bluetooth or USB, launch the Xbox app, click the "cloud games" button, select your game and start playing. We've also added some new features to help you get started, including easy-to-access information on controller and network status, social features to stay connected with friends, and the ability to invite people - even those also playing on cloud without the game installed - to join you in a game.

Cloud gaming companies have had limited success with Google recently shutting down Stadia game studios and NVIDIA having trouble getting games for their platform. Shadow, the cloud gaming service operated by Blade looked promising with high-end hardware and a large wait-list of customers however it all appears to have come to an end after the company filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. The Paris Commercial Court ruled that the server provider 2CRSi used by Shadow retains the right to take 30.2 million EURO worth of hardware to pay debts owed. The US branch of the company also filed for bankruptcy in the California Northern Bankruptcy Court with similar debts owed to 2CRSi. Blade issued a statement claiming that their Shadow game streaming service had been a victim of its own success and that they hope to find a new investor for the company so that they can keep it's hardware.

Nintendo has launched limited game streaming trials with the Nintendo Switch in Japan however these have tended to be prohibitively expensive and were never offered outside of Japan. That is all changing with the launch of Control Ultimate Edition from Remedy Entertainment which is only available as a cloud version. The game is streamed from Ubitus servers to the Nintendo Switch at 30 FPS with the choice of a graphical or performance mode.

The graphical mode features limited raytracing enabled by the server GPUs which would not be possible with the local hardware. used by Ubitus, Control Ultimate Edition - Cloud Version is now available via the Nintendo eShop for players in North America, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and parts of Europe. The game is offered as a free download to test connection requirements but to play you will require a 39.99 USD Access Pass.

Amazon has joined the ranks of fellow tech giants in launching their very own cloud game streaming service. Luna is a cloud gaming service that lets you play games on compatible Fire TV, PC, and Mac devices as well as through web apps on iPhones and iPads. The new service will compete with Google Stadia, Microsoft xCloud, NVIDIA GeForce Now, SONY PlayStation Now, and more boutique services such as Shadow or Vortex. Luna is currently in an invitation-only stage with initial pricing of 5.99 USD per month for Luna+ while in early access. Luna+ supports gameplay on two devices at once with resolutions of up to 1080p 60 FPS with 4K support coming in the future for select titles.

Luna offers game channels which grant access to a specification selection of games for a monthly fee currently, only Luna+ is offered with a Ubisoft channel coming soon. Luna+ features a variety of action, adventure, platformer, indie, shooter, RPG, racing, and classic games from Ubisoft, Capcom, 505 Games, and Team 17 with more games to be added over time. Some of the major games on the platform include Control, Grid, Resident Evil 7, Metro Exodus, ABZÛ, Overcooked 2, and Two Point Hospital. The Ubisoft channel will include a variety of games including Watch Dogs: Legion with all DLC unlocked for play on a single device for an as of yet unannounced monthly fee.

Cloud gaming is the next step in mobile gaming, with services like Microsoft project xCloud aiming to bring AAA titles right to your mobile phone. Microsoft has already been testing its xCloud application on Android and iOS devices for some time, and the application was supposed to launch sometime in September. However, it seems like Microsoft is only going to serve the customers on Android, as Apple says that these types of applications violate App Store guidelines. This doesn't only apply to xCloud, but also Google's Stadia gaming platform. When developer uploads application to App Store for iOS, the application goes through a review by Apple, for security reason and for Apple to check if it meets its guidelines.

Being that xCloud and Stadia are types of applications which offer a way to access many more applications (games in this case), this is against Apple's policy as they can't control the applications these services offer.

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.

In a report by the New York Times, plans by Amazon to launch a new cloud gaming product in the already crowded field were detailed. Dubbed "Project Tempo" the project has reportedly been in development for several months and at the cost of several hundred million dollars. Amazon hopes to develop new AAA games to accompany the launch of the service which will integrate with its popular game streaming platform Twitch.

The project is one of Amazon's largest investments in original entertainment since its founding, and places them in a prime position to compete with Google's Stadia, Microsoft's Project xCloud, NVIDIA's GeForce NOW and the countless other game streaming platforms. One advantage Amazon possesses is its vast network of data centers as part of Amazon Web Services which will play a significant role in ensuring the service achieves the minimal latency required for an optimal experience. Amazon's vice president for game services and studios has stated: "The big picture is about trying to take the best of Amazon and bringing it to games" in regards to the game making process. The first of Amazon's major game releases will be New World a fantasy MMO in May which will be followed by more games throughout the year, primarily targeting hardcore gamers.

HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., today announced it has sold over 10 million gaming headsets as it begins shipping its newest lifestyle headset, the Cloud MIX Rose Gold Edition. Since developing the first HyperX Cloud gaming headset in 2014, HyperX has produced 30 headset models, establishing itself as a leading PC and console gaming headset brand and moving into the lifestyle market with its Cloud MIX line of headsets. In addition, HyperX leads market share for PC compatible headsets according to latest NPD data.

HyperX also achieved milestones in two additional categories by shipping over one million gaming keyboards and 65 million memory modules. HyperX Alloy mechanical gaming keyboards launched with Cherry MX switches and now HyperX continues to build its gaming keyboard lineup with the release of the HyperX Alloy Origins mechanical gaming keyboard, including proprietary mechanical key switches. HyperX memory products include FURY and Predator DDR4 branded memory modules and include RGB modules with customizable LED lighting using NGENUITY software.

After continuously testing its Project xCloud streaming gaming service in an internal group, Microsoft is now looking to expand its testing of the service for a broader audience. This will be done via a Beta launch of the service, available at first only for residents in the US and UK (click here, and (South) Korea (click here). The idea is to stress-test the service, since according to Microsoft, "It's time to put Project xCloud to the test in a broader capacity, with a range of gamers, devices, network environments and real-world use-case scenarios, and this is where you come in." There is no end in sight for the Beta: Microsoft wants it to last "until customers are consistently reporting a great, fun experience and the technology meets our internal quality standards."

The only thing that's needed to participate is a Bluetooth Xbox One controller that you can connect to whatever device you want, be it a smartphone, tablet, or other streaming-capable device. The idea here is to test the xCloud service in as broad hardware and network configurations as possible, and it's a Beta, so remember to cool your expectations adequately. You won't be able to play games that are already connected to your account - Microsoft offers a curated selection of titles that includes (for the time being) Halo 5: Guardians, Gears 5, Killer Instinct, and Sea of Thieves.

We knew this was coming, especially after Google's teaser from earlier this month. Project Stream was a proof-of-concept in collaboration with Ubisoft, to see whether AAA gaming was possible over the internet. Things were smooth most of the time in our own experience, but there remained questions over how the concept would translate over to a finished product, especially with infrastructure challenges on the client side of things. Google's keynote at GDC just wrapped up, and the main focus was Stadia- the now named cloud gaming service borne out of Project Stream.

Stadia is built with instant access in mind. An example demo came in the form of Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which was used in the public test before. It is integrated with partner YouTube channels such that a trailer for a supported game would have an option to play said game, which would then launch immediately. Stadia is built with support from a wide partner network including AMD, Unity, id Software, and more, with details seen past the break.

In 2010, a company called OnLive believed that game streaming was the future. The problem was that they believed that this future would come sooner than what ended up happening. The company (or rather, its IP) would end up being bought by Sony instead. The Japanese company then launched PlayStation Now later, which in itself is a cloud gaming platform that finally brought us closer to that future.

They weren't the only ones hedging this bet, however, and soon the cloud gaming fever spread to other companies and manufacturers. NVIDIA's GeForce NOW is one of the clearest examples of that venture, with its own pros and cons. But now we have a new, promising competitor in this field: Google, which announced yesterday the birth of the so-called "Project Stream". As the name suggests, this initiative is intended to offer end users the possibility of playing any game from any device and with only one requirement: to have access to the Google Chrome browser.