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Xbox caps cloud play
Microsoft is ending unlimited Xbox Game Pass cloud streaming and replacing it with monthly time limits starting in November, with Game Pass Ultimate getting 15 hours, Premium getting 10 hours, and Essential getting five hours.
“Ultimate tier ($23 a month USD) will get 15 hours a month”
PCWorld says the Ultimate tier costs $23 a month USD, Premium is $15, and Essential is $10, and that Microsoft will let subscribers pay for more streaming on an hourly basis after they use their included minutes.
Microsoft’s stated rationale is that “the cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people use it and play for longer,” and that moving to monthly limits will let it keep offering the service while continuing to invest in reliability and performance.
Engadget frames the change as eliminating unlimited streaming for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, while also letting anyone purchase “cloud playtime hours” through the Xbox Store to stream eligible games they own on supported devices.
Across coverage, Microsoft also says it expects the limits to affect 4% of Game Pass subscribers, even as the cap turns cloud access into a metered feature rather than an open-ended perk.
Who pays more
Microsoft says the practical result for some players will be “a higher cost,” and it expects the upcoming change “to impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers” when it rolls out in November.
CNBC reports that users with high-end Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions, which cost $22.99 per month, will have access to 15 hours of cloud gaming, while Game Pass Premium account holders who pay $14.99 per month get 10 hours and Game Pass Essential, which costs $9.99 a month, includes five hours.
PCMag adds that to exceed the monthly cap, customers will need to pay an extra fee through the Xbox Store, and it notes that “Available hours, purchasing options, and cloud gaming features may vary by market.”
TweakTown says Xbox will soon sell cloud streaming play time directly to gamers, and it quotes the Xbox Store path: “Players will be able to purchase cloud playtime hours through the XBOX Store and stream eligible games they own on supported devices.”
Engadget also highlights that the make-or-break for the new setup will be how much those playtime hours cost, since Xbox says pricing will vary per market.
Business model shift
Xbox’s move also comes with a broader shift in how cloud gaming is offered, because Microsoft says that beginning in November, players will be able to buy cloud playtime hours through the Xbox Store without a Game Pass subscription.
“This will provide another option for people who want occasional access to cloud gaming”
The Xbox plan described by XBOX Wire says “This will provide another option for people who want occasional access to cloud gaming or do not want a recurring Game Pass subscription,” and it adds that cloud gaming can give Xbox One owners access to eligible games built for Xbox Series X|S without an immediate hardware upgrade.
GameDev.net says downloadable Game Pass versions are unaffected, but cloud usage is now a metered feature rather than an open-ended perk, changing the value proposition for players who relied on streaming for quick sampling or device-agnostic access.
Cinelinx emphasizes that Xbox announced the hourly limit “at most 15 hours for the highest tier, and as low as 5 hours for the lowest tier,” and says that once time is used up, players can purchase additional credits to unlock more playtime.
PCMag notes that Microsoft has also been testing an ad-supported version of cloud gaming, and it ties the new limits to a service that previously touted “unlimited cloud gaming” for streaming Xbox games on other devices including phones, PCs, and smart TVs.