XCloud "simply does not compete with Sonys offering"
"There's an extra twist to this too. Not only is the video stream lower quality on Xbox's cloud gaming service, but users are being served the Xbox Series S versions of each game I tested - despite confirmation from Microsoft that xCloud datacentres are built on Series X silicon."
"In visual settings, frame-rate, and functionality then, the Xbox Cloud Gaming version of Requiem is a fingerprint match for an Xbox Series S. In truth the setup here is little disappointing if you're playing on a Series X machine. The Xbox cloud experience not
only suffers fram additional compression, but the content itself is not representative of the visuals or performance you'd expect from a local Series X install. As a way to sample the game ahead of installing it, we're not getting the 'full-fat experience' in the way you will with PlayStation Plus streaming."
"The frame-rate-reading is identical between a native Series S install and Xbox cloud here. Likewise, its visual settings for shadows, textures, and alpha effects are a match. By contrast, if we swap over to an equivalent test of PS Plus cloud streaming, there are identical results on a local PS5 install versus the Sony cloud - which translates to 20fps lead on PlayStaiton Cloud versus xCloud, alongside a higher resolution and improved visual settings. Again, it's no contest."
"So, Xbox Cloud Gaming has an issue then - and it doesn't just afflict third-party titles, as Halo Infinite and Gears 5 also run at lower internal resolutions (1080p and 900p respectively) when streamed via the cloud. In both cases, these are lower figures than what we'd expect from true Series X hardware. Added to that, there appears to be a bug with the Xbox service on occasion, causing a 30fps cap with uneven frame pacing to appear regardless of game. In the case of A Plague Tale Requiem and Back 4 Blood, the first times we launched each game over cloud triggered erratic, choppy performance - thankfully fixed with a reboot of the game. PS Plus cloud streaming had no such issue: in every case we were met with a PS5-equivalent experience, at least before video compression and latency are taken into account."