Tencent START vs Xbox Cloud Gaming

Tencent START streams games rendered on cloud servers to supported devices, so players can start supported titles without downloading them. The app listing says progress can continue across devices when players log in with the same account. Its library includes online, single-player, and independent games, organized with personalized categories and recommendations. Listed devices include iPhone, iPad, mobile devices, tablets, computers, and TVs; the iPhone app requires iOS 14.0 or later. Tencent describes START ENGINE as supporting real-time biological and dense plant rendering, dynamic tree simulation, and GPU-accelerated fluid simulation. Tencent Cloud says streaming uses Tencent-RTC and Tencent Mingmou encoding technology, and documents JavaScript, Android, and iOS SDKs and APIs. Its Game Streaming product is a PaaS solution for PC and mobile games, with functions migrated to application cloud rendering. Each concurrent cloud gaming instance supports one player at a time. A free plan is listed, and named paid options include a STARTvip student monthly card at 28 CNY a month, an eight-hour package at 28 CNY, paid once, and a VIP monthly card at 29 CNY a month. Other listed plans have no prices shown.

Xbox Cloud Gaming streams games to supported devices including Xbox consoles, Windows PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, handhelds, Steam Deck, Android devices, iPhone, iPad, smart TVs, streaming devices, and Meta Quest. It is out of beta and included with Essential, Premium, and Ultimate subscriptions. The listed monthly cloud-play limits are five hours for Essential, ten for Premium, and fifteen for Ultimate, though another Essential plan listing specifies unlimited cloud gaming. More than two thirds of the Game Pass library is enabled for cloud streaming, and some games outside Game Pass can be streamed when owned. The service is listed in 29 countries, including India, with a maximum streaming resolution of 1440p. Progress is saved and shared across platforms, and Premium subscribers receive priority access. Official Xbox controllers, partner controllers, and verified third-party controllers are supported; many compatible games also accept mouse and keyboard or touch input. Android, iOS, and iPadOS use browser streaming. A connection of at least 20 Mbps is recommended for stable gaming. Premium costs $14.99 a month after a $1.00 trial for 14 days.