How the purchase of cloud gaming hours will work
Microsoft will not implement a strictly pay-per-use system. Hours will be sold in packages and will not have an expiration date.
This way, players will not have to use the purchased time before a specific date.
Xbox Cloud Gaming will change its access system starting in November and will begin to apply monthly limits on hours based on the Game Pass plan.
Once the included time is consumed, subscribers will be able to purchase additional hours. Microsoft will also allow playing cloud titles without subscribing to Game Pass.
How many hours of Xbox Cloud Gaming each plan will have
Starting in November, Xbox Game Pass plans will include a specific number of cloud gaming hours per month.
Game Pass Ultimate: 15 monthly hours.
Game Pass Premium: 10 monthly hours.
Game Pass Essential: 5 monthly hours.
Currently, Game Pass subscribers can use Xbox Cloud Gaming without these monthly limits.
When the included hours run out, it will be possible to purchase additional time through the Xbox Store. Microsoft indicated that the change will affect 4% of Game Pass subscribers.
Microsoft explained in a blog post that the cost of providing Xbox Cloud Gaming has increased as the usage of the service and playtime has grown.
According to the company, the limits will allow for investment in reliability and performance. It also acknowledged that, for some players, the practical outcome will be a higher cost.
Microsoft will provide more information in November about pricing, purchasing hours, eligible games, market availability, and how to check remaining time.
Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, had anticipated that the industry could enter a stage of “commercial streaming” within three years
Zelnick linked this possibility to the rising costs of chips, which have pressured console prices and could affect upcoming hardware releases
The executive pointed out that cheaper hardware allows more people to own a console, which benefits software companies. He also considered that streaming could help address this issue
Uses of Xbox Cloud Gaming that could gain relevance
Xbox Cloud Gaming allows some users to access games without having the necessary hardware to run them locally
Some Xbox One owners use it to play current titles. There are also PC gamers who turn to the service to access games that their computers cannot run
Another use is to try Game Pass games before installing them. Additionally, streaming allows users to continue playing in places where they do not have a console
The material notes that GTA 6 does not fall into this last testing case, but relates the proximity of its release to the current market context
Microsoft had already tested streaming with ads
In July, Microsoft began a trial of Xbox Cloud Gaming with ads. The company assured that the ads would not interrupt gameplay
Microsoft also highlighted that streaming allows Xbox One owners to access games developed for Xbox Series X|S without immediately purchasing new hardware
The trial was conducted in a context of rising console prices and increasing component costs