Microsoft Surface Duo Can Double as a Handheld Xbox Console After Latest Update

The Surface Duo wasn’t quite the successful folding phone Microsoft envisioned, but with each update, it gets better and better since the initial release last year. How about using your Surface Duo like a Nintendo 3DS to play Xbox games? Well, now you can with the latest xCloud app update.

During the official announcement of the Duo nearly two years ago, Microsoft teased an Xbox portable game console type experience. And while it took longer than anyone ever expected, that vision is finally becoming a reality.

Essentially, the second screen on the Microsoft Surface Duo can now double as a virtual Xbox controller for touch inputs and more. And while hearing the update added “dual-screen gaming support” doesn’t sound that exciting at first, it’s a big deal. Why? Because this will let those with xCloud and the Game Pass play over 50 Xbox games right from the Surface Duo.

This seemingly small update makes the Surface Duo act like a portable game console. It’ll show your games on the top screen and let owners use the lower second screen as the controller. You can still connect a physical controller over Bluetooth, but this new feature is definitely a welcomed change.

For what it’s worth, Microsoft has slowly added touch controls to over 50 Xbox games as of late, and that includes popular titles like Red Dead Online, Gears 5, or Minecraft Dungeons. The full list of supported games is available here.

And while we know this feature worked in a few apps previously, bringing it to the game and Xbox side of things is where it really matters. With new features like this in development, it makes you wonder when we’ll get the Surface Duo 2.

via TechCrunch