SUMMARYMicrosoft will begin imposing monthly Xbox Cloud Gaming limits in November, giving Game Pass Ultimate subscribers 15 hours, Premium subscribers 10 hours, and Essential subscribers 5 hours before requiring additional purchases. The company also plans to sell extra cloud playtime through the Xbox Store and let users stream eligible owned games on supported devices without Game Pass. Microsoft said the change reflects rising service costs as cloud gaming usage grows.
Microsoft is imposing monthly limits on Xbox Cloud Gaming starting in November, with Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and Essential subscribers getting 15, 10, and 5 hours respectively before they have to buy additional playtime. "Currently, Game Pass subscribers can stream without these monthly hour limits," notes IGN. From the report: The change means those who use cloud gaming most via Game Pass will end up having to pay more, although Microsoft said this impacts 4% of Game Pass subscribers. Also in November, Microsoft said players will be able to buy cloud playtime hours through the Xbox Store and 'stream eligible games they own on supported devices' without subscribing to Game Pass.
In a blog post, Microsoft said it was making the changes because the cost of providing cloud gaming has grown as more people use it and play for longer. The monthly limits, Microsoft continued, will mean it can invest in reliability and performance. But it said it understood that for some players the practical result is a higher cost.