Report: Microsoft shows Halo 4 running on PC, Windows Phone streaming from cloud

Halo 4 — and possibly other Xbox games — may be coming to your PC and smartphone. According to a report from The Verge, Microsoft demonstrated cloud-based streaming technology at a company meeting today that showed 343 Industries' Halo 4 running on Windows PC and Windows Phone.

The Verge's report says the service was demoed on a Windows Phone with an Xbox 360 controller attached and a low end PC. Officials referred to the unnamed cloud service, which is reportedly powered by Microsoft's Azure platform, as a prototype.

The concept service sounds like Microsoft's answer to Gaikai, the cloud-based streaming service Sony purchased last year and plans to utilize on PlayStation 4 and other Sony devices. Last week, Sony said it will launch a digital library PlayStation 3 titles through Gaikai next year for PS4, Vita and other platforms.

Microsoft's Albert Penello recently talked about the possibility for Xbox One backwards compatibility through cloud-based streaming using Azure, saying it could be utilized for "more complicated things like rendering full games like a Gaikai and delivering it to the box."

"We just have to figure out how, over time, how much does that cost to deliver, how good is the experience," Penello recently told GameSpot.

When contacted for comment on the demonstration, a representative for the company said, "The Microsoft Company Meeting is a great place to demonstrate many exciting possibilities, but we don't have any specific plans to share at this time."