Xbox Cloud Gaming is getting monthly time limits, and you'll be able to pay for more

[Daniel Sims]

The big picture: Microsoft's efforts to make Xbox services more affordable are clashing with rising component and operating costs. Just months after the company reversed last year's steep Game Pass price hikes, it plans to add new limitations and new ways for customers to pay more money.

Microsoft will introduce monthly time limits for Xbox Cloud Gaming starting in November. Game Pass subscribers and non-subscribers can purchase additional time.

Higher subscription tiers will include more cloud streaming hours per month: five hours for Game Pass Essential subscribers, 10 for Premium, and 15 for Ultimate.

Although pricing details for additional hours remain unconfirmed, Microsoft did confirm that non-subscribers can buy streaming hours to play games they own over the cloud. The company estimates the new restrictions will affect only around 4% of Game Pass subscribers, suggesting that most use cloud gaming for short sessions to complement offline gaming.

Microsoft cited the rising cost of maintaining streaming infrastructure as the primary reason for the change, claiming that more users are streaming games for longer. The company's primary cloud gaming competitor, GeForce Now, already caps paid subscribers at 100 hours of streaming per month, far more generous than Xbox's new tiers; only GeForce Now's free tier relies on one-hour session limits instead of a monthly cap.

The move comes a few months after Microsoft significantly cut subscription costs, admitting that last year's price hike cost it millions of subscribers. Microsoft also recently began testing a free plan where ads precede one-hour game sessions of titles users own. The new restrictions indicate that the company is still trying to limit costs while growing its audience.

Although Microsoft blames rising streaming infrastructure costs, the company may also be looking for new ways to monetize users as rising memory costs lead to steep hardware price hikes.

Because of explosive demand from AI data centers, RAM costs have roughly quintupled over the past year, and experts expect prices to continue rising until at least 2028. As a result, the entry-level Xbox Series S now matches the original price of the Series X, which now starts at $750 with limited availability.

Sony is also searching for solutions to the same challenges, recently admitting that it will prioritize increasing per-customer profitability over attracting new customers.

The controversial decision to cease manufacturing physical PlayStation game discs starting in 2028 is likely about cutting costs and drawing users toward higher-priced digital versions of games. Meanwhile, Sony also just introduced free, ad-supported live TV to every PS5.

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Xbox Cloud Gaming is getting monthly time limits, and you'll be able to pay for more

 

[yRaz]

And who didn't see this coming, they're going to monitize every second you're playing.

 

[pietklerckx]

Another disadvantage of not owning physical games on disc; being dependent on the whims and capriciousness of a company...

 

[Watzupken]

This is to be expected. Businesses tends to start a new product/ service at a reasonable price if this is something new to the market. As time goes by that cost will go up since they will always try to find ways to make more money out of it.
What I think it getting more obvious is the effects of unsustainable investments into AI infrastructure. In this case, the overwhelming demand on hardware is driving prices of hardware up significantly, which will always find its way to consumers in the form of higher prices or getting less for the product/services.

 

[dangh]

Good. People might get more aware and be more careful on where they put their money in... Who am I kidding.

Another disadvantage of not owning physical games on disc; being dependent on the whims and capriciousness of a company...

You don't need physical. Gog install files are better option as you can install then wherever you want it, without physical reader, so no issue installing games on e.g. you handheld or phone.

 

[The Talking Tech]

I called it, the "unlimited" access was just a temporary measure to entice you into subscribing and getting you addicted to it.

Good for those that didn't fall for it or for any other form of cloud gaming.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Good. People might get more aware and be more careful on where they put their money in... Who am I kidding.


You don't need physical. Gog install files are better option as you can install then wherever you want it, without physical reader, so no issue installing games on e.g. you handheld or phone.

Physical is still a better alternative. GoG may be DRM free but you are still at the whims of a digital storefront that can delist software, or push updates that change your experience.

You cannot get the launch version of a game like No Mans Sky from GoG. You can if you have a disk of the launch version.

Being pro ownership and anti DRM are two similar yet distinct arguments that people keep combining.

I called it, the "unlimited" access was just a temporary measure to entice you into subscribing and getting you addicted to it.

Good for those that didn't fall for it or for any other form of cloud gaming.

Meh, it's still way cheaper then building and upgrading a PC for huge swathes of the world.

 

[dangh]

Physical is still a better alternative. GoG may be DRM free but you are still at the whims of a digital storefront that can delist software, or push updates that change your experience.

You cannot get the launch version of a game like No Mans Sky from GoG. You can if you have a disk of the launch version.

Being pro ownership and anti DRM are two similar yet distinct arguments that people keep combining.

Physical does not exist on PC anymore. And I download all the GoG games installers I buy, so I'm not dependent on the storefront - exactly same as with physical. No issues with delisting, and my experience is the same as at the moment I started playing the game.

Sure, you cant download No Man Sky launch version _now_. You could do that if you bought it at launch. But still you can download it now and install locally.

GoG is the best alternative we currently have for managing own library without dependence on any storefront or even internet. It replicates the ownership of a physical media (there are actually people who are making a physical versions of GoG games), where you buy your game and you decide where, when and how you install it, not external application.

DRM is just another topic whatsoever, but not entirely disconnected. If I can't install a game due a DRM issue, how am I the owner? Just changing some drivers or proton environment can lock 'your' game for a day. Yup, will stick to GoG for as long as possible.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Physical does not exist on PC anymore. And I download all the GoG games installers I buy, so I'm not dependent on the storefront - exactly same as with physical. No issues with delisting, and my experience is the same as at the moment I started playing the game.

Sure, you cant download No Man Sky launch version _now_. You could do that if you bought it at launch. But still you can download it now and install locally.

GoG is the best alternative we currently have for managing own library without dependence on any storefront or even internet. It replicates the ownership of a physical media (there are actually people who are making a physical versions of GoG games), where you buy your game and you decide where, when and how you install it, not external application.

DRM is just another topic whatsoever, but not entirely disconnected. If I can't install a game due a DRM issue, how am I the owner? Just changing some drivers or proton environment can lock 'your' game for a day. Yup, will stick to GoG for as long as possible.

I like how you disagree with me then immediately spell out why my argument makes sense.

GoG doesn't preserve anything. A backup download is not the same as having physical copies. If your backup download is corrupted, you have no access. It's gone. A physical copy is destroyed, other physical copies exist which can be purchased to produce the same experience.

You can't delist a physical copy either. You can't get the digital version of the deadpool game by any legal means today, but you CAN buy the physical disk. Or games like GTA3, which exist as digital but with content removed.

Like I said, two similar, yet different, arguments. GoG is great for the anti DRM argument but I is not the same as physical ownership.

 

[yRaz]

Physical is still a better alternative. GoG may be DRM free but you are still at the whims of a digital storefront that can delist software, or push updates that change your experience.

You cannot get the launch version of a game like No Mans Sky from GoG. You can if you have a disk of the launch version.

Being pro ownership and anti DRM are two similar yet distinct arguments that people keep combining.

Meh, it's still way cheaper then building and upgrading a PC for huge swathes of the world.

You can download an offline copy off of GOG and make a physical copy