Microsoft has released an update for Surface Duo that turns it into a handheld Xbox as it added touch controls on the second screen of the Surface Duo. This was first teased almost two years ago, and it is finally available through an update to the Xbox Cloud Gaming app for Android.
It makes the Surface Duo look more like a Nintendo 3DS than a mobile phone, with touch controls for a variety of games.There are more than 50 games on xCloud that support touch controls and the list includes Gears 5, Sea of Thieves, Spiritfarer, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and Minecraft Dungeons.
Microsoft has been steadily adding Xbox Touch Controls to more than 50 games in recent months, including titles like Sea of Thieves, Gears 5, and Minecraft Dungeons. You can of course just use a regular Bluetooth or Xbox controller to stream games to the Surface Duo.
According to a video posted on Twitter by a Verge editor, a virtual gamepad will appear on one of the Surface Duo screens and users will be able to play games on the other screen. The update allows users to bring touch controls to supported games on the second screen of the Surface Duo.
The feature turned the Surface Duo, which came to startling reviews last year, into a handheld gaming device similar to Nintendo’s 3DS. The second-screen support turned its Surface phones into portable dual-screen Duo gaming devices similar to the 3DS.