Thomas Cluck March 18th, 2022 - 8:50 PM
On twitter today, Xbox Cloud Gaming’s head of Product and Strategy, Catherine Gluckstein, revealed that Xbox Game Pass and Cloud Gaming (Beta) are now compatible with Steam Deck. Gluckstein tweeted, “We worked closely with our friends at Valve to support #Xcloud #XboxGamePass through Microsoft Edge for the Steam Deck.” To access Xbox Game Pass and Cloud Gaming, Steam Deck owners have to install the Steam Deck version of Microsoft’s web browser, Microsoft Edge Beta, to get to the Xbox Cloud launcher. To assist Steam Deck owners with the process, Gluckstein attached a reddit post to her tweet with the news and how to install Xbox Cloud Gaming.
We worked closely with our friends at Valve to support #Xcloud #XboxGamePass through Microsoft Edge for the Steam Deck. https://t.co/NIuHCJtXMR pic.twitter.com/Jr4JPQSbFC
— Catherine Gluckstein (@CJGluckstein) March 18, 2022
This news comes about a month later after Valve CEO, Gabe Newell, said Steam will not have its own video game subscription service. However, Newell stated, “I don’t think it’s something that we think we need to do ourselves, building a subscription service at this time…we’d be more than happy to work with [Microsoft] to get that on Steam.”
Xbox and Steam’s collaboration for Game Pass should come as no surprise. Last year, Microsoft announced Xbox Game Pass was going to become available on Steam, including Xbox console exclusives becoming available for PC players. Furthermore, Valve is trying to add Microsoft’s operating system, Windows, to the Steam Deck. While not “fully realized”, Steam Deck’s custom Linux OS, SteamOS, might eventually be able to operate alongside Windows.
It seems Microsoft’s EVP of Gaming and Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, plan to bridge the gap between PC and Xbox is coming to fruition. Spencer stated in May of 2019, “As the creators of Windows, we have a unique responsibility to ensure we’re investing in experiences that benefit players everywhere, while respecting the PC community’s preference for an open, highly customizable platform.” By Xbox Game Pass and Cloud Gaming coming to Steam Deck, Spencer’s plan for “More Choice in Where to Buy Xbox Game Studios Titles” is becoming earnest.
