The PlayStation Plus cloud has higher quality than Microsoft's xCloud, per Digital Foundry

Digital Foundry created a new analysis video where he compared the service of PS5 cloud streaming reserved for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers and xCloudor the Microsoft one reserved for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

According to tech enthusiasts, the service of Sony offers significantly superior image quality and comparable to the native one for PS5, with resolution up to 4K. Xcloud, on the other hand, has to deal with more pronounced image compression, a maximum resolution of 1080p and the fact that the games are based on the Xbox Series S versions and not on those of the Series Able to emulate the most powerful console, they can split the processing power to virtualize multiple Series S at the same time, to reduce queues.

For its part, Microsoft's service can count on a lower input lag in the games tested by Digital Foundry, although in their opinion the differences are not so great as to compensate for the lower overall image quality.

“For the cost of PlayStation Plus Premium, overall Sony's approach presents fewer problems. It gives us a more authentic experience, with 4K resolution and a version of the game more comparable to a real PS5,” says Digital Foundry.

“The higher latency compared to Xbox is a disappointment, but Xbox Cloud Gaming's issues are perhaps more relevant: a lower bitrate and resolutionheavier compression, and most importantly, the lack of parity with the features and performance of the Series

Cloud of PlayStation Plus Premium and Game Pass, the catalog compared

According to Digital Foundry studies, even the PlayStation Plus Premium's cloud game catalog is larger than that of xCloud. We are talking about 851 games (of which 201 for PS5) included in the subscription compared to the 402 “cloud-ready” games of the Game Pass (of which 225 for Xbox Series Furthermore, a selection of PS5 games outside of the subscription can be used via the cloud if purchased by users, such as Cyberpunk 2077.

Keep in mind, however, that Digital Foundry based its comparison on equal terms, i.e. testing cloud services via PS5 and Xbox Series X, which is also the only way to make a comparison. In fact, contrary to Microsoft's proposal, the PlayStation Plus cloud allows streaming of PS5 games only from PS5, while users on PS4 and PC can only use it for PS4 and PC games, while they are completely cut out of the device equation as smartphones, tablets and smart TVswhich for obvious reasons greatly limits the potential of this technology.

In short, summing up, some for one reason, some for another, both services must certainly take steps forward if the goal is to establish cloud gaming among the general public.