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| Lim Yo-hwan, a legendary "Starcraft" pro gamer, plays a racing game on the newly launched 5GX Cloud Game platform. / Courtesy of SKT |
By Kim Hyun-bin
SK Telecom launched a "5GX Cloud Game" with Microsoft, Wednesday, which allows users to enjoy around 100 of the latest and most popular games on the Xbox Game Pass catalog for 16,700 won a month.
With the launch of the service, users will not only be able to enjoy the "Xbox Game Pass Ultimate" using the console but also via PCs and Android OS-based mobile phones. Other telecom company subscribers will also be allowed to utilize the service.
The 5GX Cloud Game service features the latest hit games in diverse genres. The service has been jointly launched in 22 countries including the U.S., Germany, France and Canada.
Before the year end, popular EA sports games including FIFA are scheduled to be added to the list, broadening user selection.
The service is available by subscribing to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Prospective users could register at any SKT store nationwide, or through customer service, T world and the 5GX Cloud Game homepage.
SKT has launched a bundled service named "Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Controller Pack," which provides a 12-month payment plan to purchase an Xbox-dedicated controller along with a one-year Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership for 22,000 won per month.
According to a year of data from the X Cloud Beta service, players were logging onto the cloud games from home 55 percent of the time while the remainder was accessed in other locations.
"With cloud gaming now a key part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, we're excited for gamers in Korea and around the world to have more freedom in the way they play with friends and family. Connecting gamers is core to what we do and having a great partner like SKT to enable best-in-class mobile gaming for customers is critical to that mission. We're excited to continue our work with SKT and look forward to delivering a fantastic gaming experience to the Korean gaming community," said Phil Spencer, head of Xbox at Microsoft.
To reduce delays in the games while on the move, SKT has enhanced its network lag time between 5G base stations and is continuing to develop and commercialize 5G services.
Not only is SKT cooperating with Xbox in the local cloud game market, but the telecom company also plans to increase cooperation with local game makers to develop "K-games" that could be launched in the global market.
"With SKT 5GX Cloud Game powered by Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, we will realize a new level of experience for users of 5G-based cloud gaming in Korea," said Ryu Young-sang, vice president and head of MNO Business at SK Telecom. "We will continue to expand the cloud game ecosystem by discovering and supporting promising games in Korea."
