Giving you access to console video games through your phone’s internet connection, Microsoft’s Xbox streaming solution provides a peek at a future where game libraries can travel with you Netflix-style. And while it’s not smooth sailing 100 per cent of the time right now, the tech at this early stage is surprisingly solid.

Right now only three companies really have the server infrastructure to overcome the specific challenges that come with streaming video games at scale. And while Google Stadia and Amazon Luna show no sign of launching in Australia anytime soon, the streaming component of Xbox Game Pass is set to arrive on our shores in the coming months.

The current beta test on Android offers only a couple dozen games (full Game Pass has more than 100), but it’s enough to get a feel for the service. You just open the app, choose a game, wait 30 seconds or so for it to boot on an Xbox machine somewhere in one of Microsoft’s Azure data centres, and then play it as though it’s an interactive Netflix stream. You get access to the entire game, including all online functionality, and your progress syncs seamlessly between mobile, console and in some cases PC.

Microsoft is on record as saying this is not meant to be a replacement for having dedicated hardware to play games on, but rather a supplementary service. The idea is that you can pick up your phone at any time and have instant access to the games you play at home, and all your save data is ready to go in the cloud so you can pick up where you left off. It effectively extends the Xbox ecosystem so you can jump in anywhere you have internet.