Chinese tech giant Tencent is following Google and Microsoft into cloud gaming by quietly testing a new service called “Start”. 

Start is available for test use in Shanghai and Guangdong, according to a recently launched website, promising to put high-quality gaming within reach on any device, at any time. With cloud gaming, all of the action happens on servers in data centres, rather than a player’s own hardware, with images streamed to users’ screens. 

Tencent is joining a growing number of players, including Sony, Google, Microsoft and Amazon, who are positioning themselves for what some in the games industry have hailed as the biggest disruption since the arrival of the smartphone more than a decade ago.