Backbone One & Xbox Game Pass: iPhone Controller Partnership

Backbone One and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: A Powerful Partnership

The Backbone One, a highly regarded iPhone game pad previously reviewed, has secured a significant collaboration within the gaming industry. It is now being offered as part of a bundle with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, coinciding with the launch of xCloud game streaming on iOS today.

Designed for Xbox Integration

This partnership includes a new retail package for Backbone, bearing the “Designed for Xbox” designation. This combination of Backbone and iPhone represents the closest approximation yet to a portable Xbox gaming experience.

Enhanced Software and Functionality

The Backbone accessory leverages iOS’s built-in accessory APIs to deliver exceptionally smooth functionality for its unified, cross-game dashboard. Recent updates have focused on improving game discovery, introducing users to new titles, and enabling seamless sharing of gameplay highlights through clipping features.

It stands as one of the most impressive gaming applications available on iOS, possessing substantial potential to establish a unified gaming platform for a vast global audience.

New Features for Xbox Cloud Gaming

The Capture Button on the Backbone One is fully compatible with Xbox Cloud Gaming, allowing for easy sharing of gameplay moments via shareable links. A dedicated Xbox Game Pass feed has been added, alongside a streamlined method for switching between Xbox and iOS games within a single interface.

Furthermore, the package highlights Xbox Remote Play, a feature that, despite being effective on current-generation consoles, remains relatively underutilized.

Innovative Retail Experience

An innovative AppClip is utilized to showcase an augmented reality representation of Backbone running xCloud, providing an engaging experience for potential customers encountering the retail packaging in stores.

A Team with Gaming Pedigree

The Backbone team consistently demonstrates impressive integration capabilities and astute product instincts. The team’s experience in game controller development – including contributions from members of the original Xbox 360 controller team – is evident, but it is the software aspects that truly stand out.

The way Backbone seamlessly integrates gaming experiences across AAA iOS ports such as Warzone and Minecraft, Xbox and Playstation Remote Play, and now native xCloud games, points towards the future of mobile gaming, something that no single entity, including Apple, has yet fully achieved.

Seamless xCloud Integration

Despite being web-based, xCloud games are presented as native applications within Backbone’s well-designed dashboard. Personal experience with Destiny 2 on Stadia via Backbone has been exceptionally positive, and further integration with clipping and social features, similar to those available for Xbox cloud titles, is eagerly anticipated.

Enhanced Game Discovery

The process of discovering, downloading, and playing games is demonstrably improved with a Backbone installed, even surpassing the experience offered by Apple Arcade, particularly with the team’s increasing focus on curation.

A streamlined linking mechanism allows users to directly download apps from the App Store when viewing shared clips on their feed. This represents the preferred method for modern gamers to discover and engage with new games – a continuously interconnected world of games and streams that facilitates seamless viewing, following, and playing without the need for manual searches.

A Vision for the Future of Game Discovery

This development also inspires a desire for a future where game discovery transcends simple “downloading” and evolves into a system where users can tap on a clip shared by a friend and instantly play a single level or match, becoming captivated before committing to a full purchase. Such a system would serve as a compelling acquisition gateway for new players.

Exceptional Value for New Customers

The Microsoft partnership offers a compelling incentive: purchasers of the Backbone for $99 from its website or Microsoft Stores receive a 3-month subscription to Game Pass Ultimate. Given that Game Pass Ultimate typically costs $45 alone, this represents an outstanding value proposition for new customers and is poised to significantly boost Backbone’s growth as a burgeoning gaming startup.