Game company Microsoft recently used xCloud-based tech that will enable developers to remotely test their games on Xbox Dev Kits without using them physically.
Microsoft has announced it is now using Project xCloud to enable developers to create and test games remotely without actually using the physical development kits in these hard times. In regular times, development tools were required to be run locally and remote access was only to be done within office areas.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic has made almost all game developers work from home, Microsoft decided that it was about time that they allow them to remotely do their tests at home. They will allow this by putting their development kits in their server racks. Project xCloud was actually used for low-latency gameplay for its customers, but it can also be used for testing.
Microsoft reports that they have received great feedback on the overall quality from those within the Xbox Game Studios. There are also third-party partners that said the same thing:
• Eidos-Montréal
• Infinity Ward
• Ninja Theory
• Playground Games
• Rare
• Turn 10 Studios
• Undead Labs
The advantage of the remote access of the dev kits via Project x Cloud is saving their time from downloading daily builds to local hardware in their homes. Usually this takes a lot of hours to finish.
Eidos Montreal Infrastructure Director Guillaume Le-Malet stated:
xCloud will give the opportunity to dev teams and also internal and external QA teams to put their hands on our latest game builds from everywhere minutes after their release. By allowing the teams to connect remotely to their devkits and take advantage of the high bandwidth LAN network from our various office locations, xCloud will also add another layer of security as the content created will stay on our corporate network.
Rare Technical Director Sean Davies shared:
Our transition to work from home introduced some significant hurdles into our QA and development process. We went overnight from being able to test 2-3 builds daily to being limited to one build for the whole team, downloaded overnight. This was especially painful if that build failed in any way and could wipe out whole days. Using the PC Content Test app enables us to bring back our old workflows wholesale. Installs to kits on-site are now minutes rather than the hours it takes to download remotely, and we have the flexibility to react when something goes wrong.
This Cloud-based tech is really helping out developers in working with their development and also making them safe from these tough times.
Source: Official Website
