Xbox Cloud Gaming user metrics reveal that touch controls are exclusively used by one fifth of players

In a new Microsoft Game Stack blog post, some engagement data for touch-enabled Xbox Cloud Gaming titles has been unveiled, and it is fair to say that interest is growing. The number of games available on Microsoft's subscription service regularly increases, which means there's more choice for Xbox titles that we can enjoy on our phones without needing a controller.

According to the post, 20% of Xbox Cloud Gaming players use touch-screen controls exclusively. That's a fifth of people happily tapping away on their phones while playing games previously confined to a console or PC. The Xbox Cloud Gaming team also reports that games with touch controls available see twice the usual level of engagement on average, suggesting that having the option is important to players since it allows you to swap between using a controller or touch at any time.

Of course, players will always gravitate towards some games more than others, and there are a few where more than 30% of people only use touch controls. They include:

• Hades
• New Super Lucky’s Tale
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon
• Scarlet Nexus
• Dragon’s Quest XI
• Minecraft Dungeons
• Football Manager 2022 Xbox Edition

That's quite a variety of genres, with action RPGs, platformers, and even a sports sim all represented. There has always been a stigma around mobile games that certain genres simply don't work, but that has started to shift in recent years. When Call of Duty: Mobile was released, everyone realised that shooters work extremely well, although ardent mobile players were aware of this a few years before.

Perhaps people are more willing to give touch screen controls a shot since it's part of their Xbox Game Pass subscription. Best of all, the blog post states that it's a fairly process simple to implement touch controls, particularly since there are several pre-made overlays that immediately work with a variety of games.