Microsoft has announced its game-streaming service, Project xCloud, will go live in October, with a bunch of caveats. 

Reminder: This is basically a play-your-Xbox-games anywhere streaming service, akin to Google Stadia, but based on Microsoft’s Xbox ecosystem.

But today Microsoft is testing the waters, and these are the details of what’s happening:

• Project xCloud, next month, will allow gamers in the US, UK and South Korea to play big time AAA Xbox titles on Android smartphones, tablets and other screens.
• Instead of a kind-of personal xCloud for your own Xbox, this is a version 0.01a of the service, so the games will come from the cloud, at first.
• Four games will be available to anyone, provided they own an Android 6.0 or better device, with Bluetooth 4.0, plus a wireless, Bluetooth-enabled Xbox One controller.
• So, I can’t try this because I don’t have an Xbox One controller. It seems you won’t always need an Xbox One controller to use the service, but you do at first.
• (Google Stadia also requires you use its controller, at first, but has promised that won’t always be the case.)
• For everyone else who has what is necessary, big titles Halo 5: Guardians, Gears 5, Killer Instinct and Sea of Thieves will be available for free. Which is pretty solid, arguably better than Google Stadia and more games will come even on this early trial.
• But Microsoft is only “accepting a limited number of participants in the initial test” so you’ll have to get lucky to be one of the first.
• What are you waiting for? Get trialling here, if you’re in the US or UK, while in South Korea you need to use the SK Telecom carrier. 
• If you’re not in these countries, hmm. It’s probably not worth trying given likely latency issues, and given sign-ups are based on your Microsoft account. 
• So you might have to figure out how to jump through a few hoops and probably use a VPN. 
• (One of my helpful colleagues suggested emigrating as a best-case option.)

By the way, Microsoft flips Apple off?:

• Notice that iOS devices aren’t yet compatible in this early public trial? Just Android? Nothing for iPhone or iPad yet?
• I wonder why.
• I mean… there may well be credible technical reasons for this. For sure. Technological compatibility problems are real.
• Or, or, Microsoft just flipped Apple off as it drove past.
• Which is probably not the case. Especially given Microsoft’s problems with Android and Windows Phone are more weighty in its recent history.
• So it's probably down to technical reasons for now. Probably. But iOS usually does get the exclusives first...