PlayStation cloud streaming vs Microsoft xCloud: image quality, performance and latency tested
Cloud game streaming doesn't always offer the best in terms of image quality and latency, but how does the PS Plus Cloud Streaming service compare to others?
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That brings us to the next crucial point: how PS Plus Cloud compares to Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming. The service is still technically in beta, but it's been this way for years and is offered as an Xbox Game Pass perk on the Ultimate subscription. It's a fair point of comparison in this respect but, to be blunt, the Xbox cloud offering simply does not compete with the PS+ Premium service from a technological perspective, for a multitude of reasons.
In image quality, for example, it's significantly worse, with a maximum 1080p resolution video stream against 4K on PlayStation. The bitrate is also visibly lower in step with that resolution target, something that's evident in just about every game we tested. A Plague Tale Requiem, compared running in its 60fps mode across PS5, PS+ Cloud and Xbox Cloud Gaming (image comparison further down this page), shows just how far Microsoft is behind here. The PS5 native version comes out best, inevitably, while the PS Plus Cloud version succumbs to compression artefacts but still adequately represents the game. Unfortunately, the Xbox solution is not even close to Sony's, with a hugely compressed image that simply can't handle elements like swaying grass, fire or even the shaded detail of a house. This isn't a single trouble spot either, as all of A Plague Tale's rich forest areas from the start of the game suffer a similar fate.
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.
To be clear, this is not a consumer Series S console as we know it. Indeed, based on our interview with Microsoft back in 2020, Series X silicon is used on the server-end for Xbox Cloud Gaming, but that processing power can be sub-divided to virtualise multiple less powerful Xbox machines. (One example Microsoft gave in 2020 is that a single Series X console could be virtualised into four Xbox One S systems to minimise queue times.) Based on our testing, it stands to reason that today's implementation of the Xbox cloud uses a virtualised Series S running on Series X silicon. All of this would, in theory, service more than one player from a single slice of Series X silicon, for an end result comparable to an actual Series S machine - a remarkable technological achievement from Microsoft. It's easy to imagine that this change was made to facilitate shorter queue times and as the service tops out at 1080p streams right now, using the Series S versions of the games won't be that impactful in a range of titles. However, other games will have issues
To compare PS+ streaming against Xbox Cloud Streaming next, I had to dig deep to find a common game on both cloud services - a 60fps FPS with a distinct muzzle flash for use with LDAT. In the end I landed on Back 4 Blood, the spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead. After 100 samples for each, curiously the native install results read out at 84ms on PS5 versus just 54ms on Xbox - a clear advantage on Xbox systems with no cloud involvement. It's a strange discovery that, in first-hand experience, bears out with snappier controls on Xbox.
The crucial bit though is the relative difference to the same game running over the cloud. Using the same methodology, we get 137ms on PS+ Cloud against 99ms on the Xbox cloud - or an extra 53ms of latency on PlayStation versus an extra 45ms on Xbox. In terms of added latency then, it's a win for Xbox's cloud service here. Potentially this latency difference is due to my proximity to the nearest server for each service, but it is a consistent latency advantage for Xbox in my testing. On the flip side though, the shortfalls there in image quality, and frame-rate performance are a major factor to consider
That's state of cloud gaming on console right now. For the cost of the PlayStation Plus Premium tier, overall, Sony's approach does have fewer issues. It gives us a more authentic experience, with a 4K presentation and a version of the game that's more comparable to an actual PS5. The higher latency compared to Xbox is a disappointment, but then, Xbox Cloud Gaming's issues are perhaps more impactful: a lower bitrate and resolution, heavier compression, and most importantly, the lack of parity with Series X features and performance. The Xbox Cloud Gaming service is simply not on the same level as PS Plus cloud streaming in terms of quality, as it stands today.
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