Microsoft slashes Xbox Cloud Gaming to just 15 hours a month for Ultimate subscribers

Microsoft is announcing some major changes to Xbox Cloud Gaming today, less than a year after opening up cloud gaming to its Xbox Game Pass Premium and Essential tiers. While all Game Pass plans have included unlimited cloud gaming over the past year, from November this will be limited to just 15 hours on Ultimate, 10 hours for Premium subscribers, and a measly 5 hours for Game Pass Essential.

“We recognize that introducing limits is a meaningful change, particularly for players who regularly spend more time gaming through the cloud,” says the Xbox team in a blog post announcing the changes. “We expect this upcoming change to impact four percent of Game Pass subscribers.”

If you want to use more than the 15 hours included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you’ll need to purchase additional cloud playtime through the Xbox store starting in November. Microsoft isn’t revealing exact pricing and details today, but Xbox cloud players will be able to purchase bundles of hours that can roll over if unused in a particular month.

Microsoft says it’s making these changes “because the cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people
use it and play for longer.“ While that’s undeniably true, Microsoft previously restricted Xbox Cloud Gaming access to its Game Pass Ultimate tier and then opened up access to all tiers of Game Pass nearly a year ago. Unlimited cloud gaming was one of the big additions for Game Pass Premium and Essential tiers, and now that everyone has gotten used to the new feature, they’re being asked to pay for more hours.

Xbox players use cloud gaming in a variety of different ways, including people trying out games before they download them, Xbox One owners using it to access Xbox Series X games, or gamers simply accessing Xbox games away from home on mobile devices.

These strict monthly limits could force some Xbox One owners to upgrade their consoles instead of relying on the cloud for certain games. Players who have regularly used Xbox Cloud Gaming to try out games might also think twice about doing that regularly, especially when the hourly restrictions could make that a lot more difficult on the Game Pass Essential tier.

As part of these sweeping changes, Microsoft is also opening up Xbox Cloud Gaming access to people without a Game Pass subscription. “Players will be able to purchase cloud playtime hours through the Xbox Store and stream eligible games they own on supported devices,” says the Xbox team. “This will provide another option for people who want occasional access to cloud gaming or do not want a recurring Game Pass subscription.”

I don’t think these limits are going to go down well with Xbox Game Pass subscribers, much like the original price hikes. Microsoft was forced to drop the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate six months later, but cut new Call of Duty titles from the service in a bid to balance its costs. These latest Xbox Cloud Gaming changes seem like yet another attempt to prevent more Game Pass price increases.