Xbox is introducing monthly cloud gaming time limits for Game Pass subscribers who stream games online through Xbox Cloud Gaming.
The new Xbox cloud gaming restrictions will take effect in November. Subscribers to the £16.99-a-month Ultimate plan will be able to stream games for up to 15 hours per month before they must purchase additional cloud gaming time.
Xbox said the monthly limit reflects the rising cost of cloud gaming infrastructure and will help the company “continue to invest” in the reliability and performance of its streaming service.
Some users questioned, external how widely Xbox Cloud Gaming is used, while others criticised, external the additional restrictions for Game Pass subscribers.
Cloud gaming lets players stream and play games from remote servers using a phone, tablet, PC, console or compatible controller, without downloading and running the games directly on their device.
Each Xbox Game Pass subscription tier will have a different monthly cloud gaming allowance.
Premium subscribers will receive 10 hours of cloud gaming per month, while Basic Essential subscribers will get five hours. Once those limits are reached, users will need to pay for additional cloud playtime.
Xbox said that only 4% of Game Pass users, its Netflix-style game subscription service, currently use Xbox Cloud Gaming.
According to recent reporting from The Wall Street Journal, external, Game Pass has approximately 30 million subscribers. That means around 1.2 million users could be affected by the Xbox cloud gaming changes.
“This is a pretty bad change. I hope Xbox adds a zero at the end. Fifteen hours is awful. Thirty minutes per day, really?” one commenter posted on X, external.
Windows Central’s Jez Corden told the BBC that the announcement showed “nothing is foolproof from an AI-driven component crisis”. He added that the decision highlighted “where Microsoft’s priorities lie”.
Cloud gaming and artificial intelligence services use much of the same underlying infrastructure, including data centres, to process information.
“To continue providing unlimited access to Microsoft Copilot [AI], restricting paid cloud gaming in this way when it is available for free shows some contradictions,” he added.
Xbox said in a blog post, external that from November, users will be able to access its cloud gaming features by purchasing “Cloud Playtime hours” through the Xbox Store, without subscribing to Game Pass.
Xbox has not yet confirmed how much the additional cloud gaming time will cost.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk