Microsoft announced on Thursday, September 3rd, that it will implement a time limit for using Xbox Cloud Gaming by Game Pass subscribers. Starting in November, the most expensive plan, Ultimate, will have a quota of 15 hours of cloud gaming per month. Until that date, subscribers can use the service without any monthly restriction.
This limitation will be extended to other subscription tiers. Specifically, Game Pass Premium will receive an allowance of 10 monthly hours of Cloud Gaming, while Game Pass Essential will be entitled to 5 hours. If the stipulated time is exceeded, users will have the option to purchase extra hours through the Xbox Store. Although the prices have not yet been disclosed, they will be announced before November.
According to the company itself, this change should affect approximately 4% of the Game Pass subscriber base. In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that the service had about 30 million subscribers; maintaining this number, the change would affect at least 1.2 million users.
Microsoft justifies the introduction of these monthly quotas due to increased operational costs of Cloud Gaming. The company acknowledges that, for certain players, the practical effect of this change will be an increase in the service cost. In addition to the new allowances, Microsoft has also introduced a pay-per-use model for Xbox Cloud Gaming. Starting in November, it will be possible to buy game hours on the Xbox Store to stream compatible titles in the cloud, even if the user is not a Game Pass subscriber.
The Verge points out that this novelty seems primarily aimed at people who do not own an Xbox console or who play more frequently on mobile devices and other compatible devices. These changes occur after a series of adjustments made by Microsoft to the Xbox ecosystem. In recent months, the company reviewed subscription prices and reduced the monthly fee for Game Pass Ultimate to R$ 76.90, after CEO Asha Sharma criticized the values as being excessively high.