Microsoft has announced an update to its Xbox Games Pass cloud gaming platform for Android that turns one of the Surface Duo's dual screens into a virtual touch controller while the other displays the game.
Among the use scenarios showcased by Microsoft ahead of the Surface Duo's release were checking emails on one screen while watching a movie on the other, scrolling through a presentation while also on a video call, and using the second screen as a touch keyboard, laptop-style. Another was as a mobile gaming device, using a supported Bluetooth controller to play Xbox Game Pass titles.
Recently, more than 50 games on the cloud gaming platform have been made touch compatible, including Jetpac Refuelled, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Minecraft Dungeons, Gears 5, and Star Renegades. Now the company's Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay, has taken to Twitter to announce that Ultimate members can play these touch-supported titles using the Duo's second screen as an Xbox-like controller - essentially turning the hinged-screen Android phone into a handheld Xbox.
Users will need to orient the device like a clamshell laptop, where the upper screen shows the game while the lower display area is transformed into an Xbox-mapped controller – meaning that thumbs don't mask any onscreen action and potentially interfere with gameplay. Players who prefer the feel of physical buttons and triggers, can of course still use a supported wireless controller with the Surface Duo.
Source: Twitter