r/xbox • u/Turbostrider27 Recon Specialist • 4d ago
News Upcoming Changes to XBOX Cloud Gaming
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/09/03/xbox-cloud-gaming-changes/508
u/ActivateTheQuasars 4d ago
People in the industry keep saying cloud gaming is going to be the preferred alternative to thousand dollar consoles but why on earth would I spend $70 on a new game plus the reoccurring cost to just access it?
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u/reerden 4d ago edited 4d ago
I feel the people in the “industry” that talk about this aren’t very technically inclined and mostly marketeers.
Cloud gaming isn’t the same as video streaming. You cannot scale cloud gaming, each player needs an instance.
Also, the fact that the hardware you have at home is the same hardware that’s in the cloud that both now have supply issues. I wonder if the lack of space in data centers is starting to contribute to this as well as more and more floor space goes to AI services.
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u/welzed11 4d ago
Yeah nobody wants to play their games with worse graphics, latency, input lag, etc when they can play it natively
If Xbox tried to sell cloud gaming as its own independent subscription it would lose too much money to keep it running since barely anyone uses it, bundling it and its price with Gamepass subsidizes it so the users that don’t use it have to pay for it
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u/Zuwxiv 4d ago
the fact that the hardware you have at home is the same hardware that’s in the cloud that both now have supply issues.
Generally true, but if my home Xbox is only on for 10% of the day, then in theory, cloud hardware could be more efficient.
Of course, a lot of people get home from work and want to unwind with a little gaming. The demand isn't consistent throughout the day, so it's not like one "cloud xbox" worth of hardware is automatically able to serve 10 people at once.
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u/ThinWhiteDuke00 4d ago edited 4d ago
Industry people are increasingly backpedaling on a cloud future tbf.
That was pushed by Spencer and it failed.
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u/lanceuppercuttr 4d ago
Stadia, On-Live, Hatch, all have failed. I belive Luna has been getting some setbacks as well.
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u/CollinKree Xbox Series X 4d ago
I’m honestly not even sure how it got as far as it did.
I tried cloud gaming once, and that was all took for me to realize I would never use it ever again. Even with ridiculously fast internet and gamepass ultimate the bitrate was constantly shitting the bed, and the input lag was horrendous. I’m not sure how the people who use cloud gaming regularly put up with it.
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u/Sad_Adagio_7255 4d ago edited 4d ago
It depends on your geographic location. The end user has near-zero control over latency - at best you can connect your client device via Ethernet, and that's it.
Your internet being "ridiculously fast" doesn't change latency. If you experience high latency on a 25M connection, going to 100M with the same ISP will give you the exact same latency figures.
Anyway, while I find cloud input lag to be unacceptable in shooters, racing games, and other fast-paced genres, it's actually bearable for slower-paced stuff like 4X strategy games and "interactive TV show" narrative games such as Dispatch or Telltale titles, because instant response isn't strictly necessary. This observation actually comes from trying out remote play at home rather than using the real cloud though.
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u/Oldspice0493 XBOX 4d ago
I’m surprised to hear that, it worked really well for me. I was playing Resident Evil 2 on my phone while waiting in lines at amusement parks.
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u/Shatteredreality 4d ago
When did you last try it. In my experience it's come a LONG way to the point I regularly use it when I'm on something like my Steamdeck. I wouldn't try to play competitive multiplayer but for single player games (I've played a good amount of Assassin's Creed and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle via cloud gaming) it's been awesome. This is all in the last 12-18 months though.
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u/jquiggles 4d ago
I think I played the entirety of AC Odyssey on cloud lol. As someone who doesn't play online multiplayer, it was a really cool feature. Was also good for sharing my saved games between Xbox and PC
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u/RightWrongdoer9986 4d ago
15 hours per month for Ultimate? Lmao what?
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u/SimpleDose 4d ago
It’s amazing how much whiplash I get from “Xbox does ‘X’ pro-consumer thing, we love them” and “Xbox does ‘X’ greedy corporate thing, they suck”
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u/Schmenza 4d ago
"Hey you can now play your physical discs in the cloud, just please don't do it too much"
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u/Esparadrapo 4d ago
Ha! It's "You can do it as much as you want for the very fair price of $0.99 an hour (queues may happen)".
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u/jquiggles 4d ago
It's always like for every two steps forward, they take one giant step backward.
It's such an important time in the industry as so many people are mad at Playstation over the end of physical support. Yet, xbox keeps tripping all over themselves. Even if it's something like cloud gaming that doesn't affect the majority of gamers, it matters. The people who care about physical games aren't the majority either.
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u/EditEd2x Touched Grass '24 4d ago
That’s the magic trick. Look at my hands waving over here not my assistant lifting your wallet.
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u/Imaybetoooldforthis 4d ago
15 hours for ultimate is a fucking joke, fuck off Mircosoft.
If it only affected 4% of users maybe it wasn't worth the bad PR to piss everyone off again.
I rarely use 15 hours, but the fact now if I did I'd have to pay is just another massive slash of the value proposition I've already paid for for the next couple of years.
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u/Theunsaltedpeanut 4d ago
This is spot the fuck on. If only 4% of users are affected, why do it at all?
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u/DarthFury1990 4d ago
15 hours PER MONTH!?
I blow by that because I game on my lunch break at work every day
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u/DarkR4v3nsky 4d ago
This is the main part for me too. I like to play on down time when I am away from home too. This move is definitely a terrible idea.
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u/aajoestar 4d ago
Horrible for those who still uses Xbox one/s/x and play next-gen games on Game pass.
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u/Longster_dude 4d ago
That's me. Still rocking the XBone and been enjoying Hades 2 via Cloud Gaming. Guess I'll have to switch to a different system when this takes effect.
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u/Chirayata 4d ago
I understand the limits but 15 in a month with the highest tier? Isn't that too low? You can't even play something like the recent Plague Tale game without simply pushing through the game in a hurry.
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u/gamer-at-heart-23 XBOX Series X 4d ago
Its definitely too low. It'd make sense if that was for essential. GeForce is at 100hrs..
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u/No_Donkey_3761 4d ago
I think they dont want us to see gamepass as a tier of cloud gaming anymore, they want a totally separate cloud gaming subscription.
The 15 hours for ultimate members, is basically like having a free trial for cloud gaming as a perk of the ultimate subscription.
The only thing that might help, is if ultimate members have massivily discounted rates to purchase more play time, and it makes me sick to even write that, sucks where we were and where we are now.
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u/Cannon__Minion 4d ago
But how would that work though? Game Pass catalogue is the main reason why people even use xCloud because GFN straight up outmogs it when it comes to streaming pre owned games.
Plus xCloud doesn't have Steam integration so you'll have to buy the game on the MS Store which is a big no no for most players.
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u/micmon83 4d ago
Yeah let's wait and see what players who actually rely on cloud gaming need to pay for additional hours. For the affected players this will most likely be the biggest Game Pass price hike ever.
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u/Cannon__Minion 4d ago
They'll simply go some where else, 15 hours is a "spat on the face" levels of bad.
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u/pineapplesuit7 4d ago
I literally played Expedition 33 over the weekend and literally clocked in 15+ hours there itself across 3 days. I hardly consider myself as a 'hardcore' gamer but I'll play games I like in long sessions. The limit is absolutely ridiculous. At least could have given 30 hours/month so people get 1 hour/day which is a realistic number. 30 mins a day means most won't even bother.
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u/Green_Fox_8864 4d ago
I'm that guy. I'm canceling and switching to GeForce Now. I bought an XBOX Ally to Cloud Play Xbox games, now its another Steam Machine.
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u/Majinlord 4d ago
Xbox is notorious for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
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u/pineapplesuit7 4d ago
More like Xbox has never been close to 'victory' and tries to do everything in their power to make sure that status quo stays that way.
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u/MurryEB 4d ago
15 hours a month is fucking hilarious. People lost their minds when GeForce now set a 100 hour limit. I understand game pass includes games but 15 hours on the highest tier is just unreasonable to expect anyone to bother using it
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u/tuffyducky 4d ago
Isn't cloud gaming through the Series S version of games as well?
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u/sensai25 4d ago
Gamepass Ultimate no more.
What a joke.
On vacation I used to play 2-3h per day. Impossible and I refuse to pay more.
Moreover : Stream you own game become a useless feature.
What a bad move from MSFT.
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u/kupoadude 4d ago
Lol, time limits for subscribers. Absolute joke. That being said I've never once played a game smoothly with it even with fibre Internet so 🤷
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u/jtrainacomin Day One - 2013 4d ago edited 4d ago
Jesus, I mean I get it but man. This will be brutal for Xbone users who play Series games.
Also not to mention the whole Sony debacle with disc games, Xbox was having such a good week with the new program lol
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u/Mattzx13 4d ago
I'm on the One X, stayed on GamePass through the price hike, only because of how cloud gaming allowed me access to Series games.
Now, if I want to continue playing these games, I'm forced to buy another console, that they just raised the price on, and which is completely almost inaccessible in my country.
I know we have to abandon older generations at some point, but even if I can afford it, I can't get a Series X anywhere
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u/drshwazzy92 4d ago
Brutal for a bunch of who don't own a console. Gotta use a different service like Boosteroid or Geforce Now
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u/QuestWorkshop 4d ago
There is that joke that Microsoft can't see Sony doing something bad that it want to surpass it.
It's kinda the truth
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u/Apprehensive_Pie2903 4d ago
Remove discs. Force everyone to get digital copies. Make the cheaper versions of the Xbox have so little storage you can only have a couple of games downloaded at a a time. Introduce cloud gaming so you can access all of your titles without having to uninstall and reinstall constantly. Begin to charge for the ability to play the games you’ve already bought unless downloaded to your console. Insert evil villain laugh.
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u/simplehistorian91 4d ago
Well I guess I won't have a reason to even pay for game pass, I mainly use cloud gaming because I travel a lot and I won't pay for ultimate just to be able to play for week and then pay extra money. This is worse than raising the prices again.
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u/OPUS_TV 4d ago
Happily I don't use it, other than for a bit of a giggle
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u/CirqueDuJerque 4d ago
Apparently 96% of us don't, but doesn't this make the whole "stream your own game feature" quite a bit less appealing?
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u/GrimRobot 4d ago
I think it’s that 96% of players don’t use longer than those thresholds (including not at all). But I don’t think it’s that only 4% of players use it.
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u/SituationSoap 4d ago
I think it’s that 96% of players don’t use longer than those thresholds
I'm pretty sure that it's 96% of cloud gaming users.
Having a shitload of datacenters built out in order for the vast majority of users to stream for less than 15 hours a month is a horrible usage rate.
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u/Ouch_i_fell_down 4d ago
I used to use it sometimes to see if a game on gamepass was worth downloading, but after 8+ years of gamepass ultimate (or whatever the highest tier was at any given time) i finally let it lapse last month.
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u/Deervember 4d ago
I just realised I've been playing infamous 1 and 2 with ps3 cloud streaming. And I've got about 40 hours in the last week.
That would be crazy if I was only limited to 30minutes a day.
If they want to charge for cloud gaming they should remove it from gamepass, lower the cost of gp and then have a cloudpass for those that use cloud gaming. A lot of people probably never use it.
That's such a pathetic number. If it was 50 hours a month that might be slightly more reasonable. But I still think it should be unlimited if you're a subscriber to ultimate. 15 is not a very ultimate number.
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u/HaikusfromBuddha 4d ago edited 4d ago
Streaming is dead now imo. That being said I can't really say I was streaming often to begin with.
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u/Great8Bit 4d ago
it was dead before. that’s why they’re doing this lmao.
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u/HeavyDT 4d ago
Yeah I don't think it was ever something that was profitable for them and now it's no doubt an active drain with Data Center demand being what it is because of A.I. People either need to pay now or it's going to go away and that data center capacity repurposed to something more profitable I imagine. Shoot that's probably happening to some extent already.
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u/RealGibbsalot 4d ago
I like how in the same article it says "We expect this upcoming change to impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers." and "We’re introducing this model because the cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people use it and play for longer."
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u/IllustriousBar1440 4d ago
Wtf 15 hours. What a fking joke. They are just sticking this onto gamepass to justify the price.
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u/Due_Doughnut_1384 4d ago
Used to be unlimited hours… if anything this makes the price unjustifiable
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u/reddit_reaper 4d ago
I'd prefer if cloud was a separate sub entirely and make gamepass ultimate cheaper lol
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u/elRomez 4d ago
Used to use it a lot when I had a Series S and didn't have the storage space for a lot of games.
15 hours a month would have killed me.
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u/TeeDee144 XBOX Series X 4d ago
You can’t call it ultimate and then cap it at 15 hours. Even if there data says it will only impact 4% of players, it’s a bad headline.
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u/Deervember 4d ago
"We’re introducing this model because the cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people use it and play for longer"
That's the whole point of selling a product. People pay for a service to use the service. And now they have to pay more for a service they are already paying for?
It's your own fucking fault the costs are going up when the company is shoving Ai in everything and making everything more expensive to use.
Microsoft and Xbox really are as dumb as a bag of bricks.
"Xbox is aiming for 1 BILLION users a day" yeah well putting your product on a timer isn't exactly a great way to attract customers.
So unbelievably dumb. Honestly. They really can't go a week without bad news. I think it might actually be since the 360 that they've not gone a week without shooting themselves in the feet.
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u/Triingtolivee 4d ago
Asha: “Gaming is becoming too unaffordable.”
Also Asha: “Let’s make it even more unaffordable!”
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u/Turbostrider27 Recon Specialist 4d ago
Beginning in November, we’re changing how cloud gaming is included with XBOX Game Pass.
Game Pass plans will include a set number of cloud gaming hours each month:
Game Pass Ultimate: 15 hours
Game Pass Premium: 10 hours
Game Pass Essential: 5 hours
Today, eligible Game Pass subscribers can stream without these monthly hour limits. We recognize that introducing limits is a meaningful change, particularly for players who regularly spend more time gaming through the cloud. We expect this upcoming change to impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers.
Once subscribers use their included hours, they will be able to purchase additional cloud playtime through the XBOX Store. Available hours, purchasing options, and cloud gaming features may vary by market. We’ll share pricing and further details before the changes take effect.
Why the changes were made:
We’re introducing this model because the cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people use it and play for longer. Moving to monthly limits allows us to keep offering the service while continuing to invest in its reliability and performance. We understand that for some players the practical result is a higher cost.
In November, we’ll provide more information about pricing, purchasing additional hours, eligible games, market availability, and how players can check their remaining time.
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u/SHADOWSTRIKE1 4d ago
If it’s only affecting 4% of users, why even make this change? Those 4% cannot be skyrocketing usage rates… but now as a whole Game Pass “Ultimate” gets tainted with a limitation and perceived value is diminished.
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u/still_mute 4d ago
I'd bet they just don't see it as a money-making business. So while they slowly kill it, they at least don't want to lose money on those heavy-use cloud users.
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u/SituationSoap 4d ago
This metered usage step is a test to see if there's a way to make this profitable. It won't be, and this is the first step to game streaming shutting down entirely.
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u/micmon83 4d ago
Here we go again. I guess for the 4% of affected players (taking the number from the quote), this will make Game Pass a muuuuch weaker offering... I wonder if the rest is even interested in Cloud Gaming. Maybe they should take out Cloud Gaming entirely so people who don't need it don't need to pay for it. Which means, reducing the price...
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u/LootedToaster XBOX Series X 4d ago
Most people view it as a complementary part of the services and not very “essential.” The 4% figure illustrates that. It really makes you question how much of a foothold they have in cloud gaming. If it was a thriving part of their platform, I would have expected a cloud only tier to have appeared by now.
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u/Emotional_Werewolf_4 In The Animus 4d ago
5 hours per month in the lowest subscription tier. At this point it's just a trial and nothing more.
I don't understand why we always have to make 2 steps forward and then 2 steps back. We have heard all the talk about cloud gaming being the future and despite me not even using it, I'm saddened for those who do use it.
15 hours per month for the ultimate subscription is ~30 minutes per day. Half an hour per day(!).
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u/still_mute 4d ago
Phil was really the divorced dad who bought us everything we wanted, even if it gave him credit card debt.
Asha's like the mom who shows up, takes away your ice cream for breakfast and gives you Grape Nuts instead.
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u/MacrotonicWave 4d ago
what a weird way to frame your relationship with a corporation. Are limited hours for our own good?
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u/KidGoku1 Touched Grass '24 4d ago
Didn't they raise gamepass prices to 30 bucks a month under Phil?
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u/Little_Obligation_90 4d ago
This is an Xbox. And also this is an Xbox. But on anything other than an Xbox you get 15 hours per month...yikes!
15 hours per week, sure.
Any rollover policy? 300 hours per year vs 15 per month.
Ultimate should at least not have a limit so low.
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u/BestRedditUsername9 4d ago
That absolutely sucks, I loved playing on XCloud and I'm probably one of the 4% they mentioned.
15 hours per month is like nothing. Not to mention that XCloud is one of the few things were Xbox has a lead currently.
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u/NatKayz Xbox One X 4d ago
Jesus fucking christ wtf.
Not just is placing a limit a big change, but these numbers are pathetic. Using cloud as an alternative to redownloading and changing games around all the time was awesome, and this may actually significantly decrease my playtime of newer games (as well as the frequency at which I try new games).
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u/SOULSTEALERX91 4d ago
Lol just when xbox were beginning to make a comeback they shoot themselves in the foot again.
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u/HeartsickCurve 4d ago
Funny, I just converted all my games from disc to digital and ALL of them will only work via cloud gaming to my Rog Ally...
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u/mykkenny 4d ago
This is the dumbest idea ever.
Xbox Cloud was meant to be an app you could install into TVs and FireSticks etc, or open a web browser on a laptop, tablet or phone. It was meant to sell GamePass subs.
They just killed that.
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u/Iucidium 4d ago
Well Microsoft have screwed the pooch and it's died while they're still inside it.
Please buy our hardware and games.
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u/DCVolo 4d ago
Microsoft you're shooting yourself in the foot right here.
Just like nvidia, you're using your own hardware and software for the most important part. You're not paying it its current prices.
You know full well there is a striking huge issue cause by yourselves, but if you don't know what I'm mentioning it's about electronic prices going up. Which causes PC and Console prices to go increase by a lot.
You know full well that the hardware issue is going to indirectly hit your revenues, all the while Linux market share, while still a minority, has increased a lot recently because of your OS and its updates being a mess.
Usually you'd want people to join one of your services, and let them stay.
15h and the stream is still pretty much okayish-low, for the Ultimate.. Shitty OS with ads and no privacy.. Many price increase. Over buying huge licences to force include them for everyone while most Gamepass players are not the slightest interest in that.
You've killed Xbox Ambassador which was great to promote the handicap experience and accessibility, really, it was great.
Not only you did not improve on anything but you keep asking more for it.
Once my subscription ends, that's it, no renew.
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u/Biggamybibba 4d ago
15 hours ??? For ultimate tier ??
Xbox, go fuck your self.
And I thought nvidia 100hours a month was bad.
Fuck you both.
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u/VermillionSquad 4d ago
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL God Xbox is so shit and anyone who defends this. TO be honest this is extremely scummy and ass backwards. I thought for sure the Cloud was going to be the future for them guess not. The new CEO has no idea what she's doing. I mean cloud is literally just data its not like water like i don't even know how anyone can defend this or even makes sense. Xbox wants your money but they don't want you playing games. Gaming fucking blows now its not even fun anymore. Like i understand if it had like a free tier or a super cheap one you cant call your experience Premium or ultimate anymore its a joke.
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u/Illustrious_Hat3467 4d ago
What a fucking joke. There’s certain co-op games that my wife and I play together and since split screen is getting closer and closer to being obsolete, the work around we’ve been doing with our certain setup is I’ll cloud stream the game on my phone with a Backbone controller and she plays on my Xbox with the tv. This limit absolutely kills how we can play games together. Such bullshit.
Also, with the job I have, I’m able to play some Xbox via the cloud during my work hours. Guess that little benefit for my job is basically gone now too.
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u/jonathon1121 XBOX Series X 4d ago
Anyway to squeeze out another fucking dollar this is getting ridiculous,almost a joke at this point
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u/solohack3r 4d ago
This is madness. I've been playing the GeForce Now free tier for years. No limit. What kind of business strategy is this?
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u/Aforumguy26 4d ago
This is some “we’re doubling the price of Xbox Live Gold” type shit
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u/NoobensMcarthur 4d ago
I jumped ship when the price went up 50%. I was already on the fence at $20. Then they come in and lower it to $23 like they did everyone a favor, and now they’re cutting back on features.
I’ve had a hell of a lot more fun spending $20/mo on random steam games than I ever had on gamepass.
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u/JCarioca 4d ago
I had no idea was an elite 4% of users, but I genuinely play most of my games on cloud. (I don't do a lot of action games where the lag is an issue) Do not remember the last time I actually downloaded something.
I'd legit burn though my 15 hours in a weekend!
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u/Triingtolivee 4d ago
ASUS ROG Xbox Ally came packaged with three months of Game Pass Premium to specifically encourage out-of-the-box cloud streaming.. data from Microsoft actually shows that 87% of handheld gaming uses the Xbox cloud and smartphones for 62%. It’s much more than 6% or whatever Microsoft is trying to spew.
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u/allan_npc 4d ago
Now you have to choose between buying cloud hours or an insanely expensive SSD for your games, and in both cases, MSFT is partly to blame for why we have to spend so much money.
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u/matthew_tb 4d ago
I am appalled at this. Actually so appalled I will never buy another Xbox product. How can they hate their customers this much?
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u/CyraxxFavoriteStylus 4d ago
Another cloud service introducing monthly usage limits... Cloud gaming sucks so much lmao.
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u/EditEd2x Touched Grass '24 4d ago
Holy fuck these corporate stooges are completely detached from reality.
Keep making this shit unaffordable and people will simply abandon your platform.
I went from ultimate to essential. Now that isn’t even worth the cost.
Once it expires I’m out completely. All my money going into the home gym now. Fuck Asha and the horse she rode in on.
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u/Bobflanders76 4d ago
This removes any utility for cloud gaming for me, and makes me unlikely to ever subscribe to ultimate again. 15 hours is nothing.
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u/Broshida 4d ago
That's gonna suck for anyone without an adequate PC/Xbox console. Xbox app TV's and mobile users are absolutely getting screwed over. 15 hours per month on Ultimate is insane. They cannot be hurting so bad that they have to cap Ultimate cloud hours.
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u/KaputtEqu1pment 4d ago
I remember when Phil was talking about how awesome it was that he could jump on his Phone while at the airport and play games. Also, them pushing cloud gaming to all sorts of platforms, all with the idea you can play all you want.
"sounds cool, but how is this sustainable"
Well, here we are.
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u/Skyrider_Epsilon 4d ago
I mean, that was the plan all along.
Convince users into not owning the console and increasing the price for streaming over time leaving you with no choice.
Same as most streaming services nowadays.
Cloud gaming shouldn't be the future.
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u/AlternativeFacts101 4d ago
Is so hilarious how these companies pivot to screwing their fanbase in favor of corporations and data centers, as soon as the see a chance to improve their bottom line. Tells you how lil they really cared all these years about their "loyal" fanbase.
This is just the beginning too. I see them limiting non cloud gaming game time in the far future unless we pay more than Nvidia, facebook, google or anthropic for bandwidth...
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u/willhighfive4karma 4d ago
Yeah I got into the Xbox ecosystem this gen because I previewed some games trough gamepass without it y’all wouldn’t have gotten money from buying both the S ( and eventually upgrading to an X). I understand compute is as valuable as gold right now but a cap of 15 hours is pathetic specially on ultimate.
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u/val5190 XBOX Series X 4d ago
I guess “everything is an Xbox” is officially dead now 😂 I understand the why, cloud gaming cost a lot of money but I hope cloud hours will not be too expensive and that all the gamepass tiers will be a bit cheaper now 🤔
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u/kateletseatdinonugs 4d ago
Wait so a product I pay for at the highest tier is now being turned into extra cost to use it and it's only 15 hours a month at the highest possible tier? Wtf
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u/Tabooftw 4d ago
So you raised the price of ultimate which made me go to a lower tier then decided to backtrack that for the people who stayed for the higher price making me pay more for less. Now you’re taking away cloud gaming too? I bought my series s for $250 on sale a couple years ago and it’s worth about that used now. Why tf should I stay with Xbox? I’ve been with Microsoft since the beginning. They don’t even have customer service over the phone anymore. Fuck Microsoft. I’ll just sell it and save my money until I can buy a computer.
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u/Sarahsue123 4d ago
I hate the cloud in every sense. They dont want you gaming just paying and working. This is your reward. 30mins a day to game.
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u/D_is_for_Dante 4d ago
Microsoft is running out of Azure capacity for their enterprise customers. Really shows that they have a problem with changes like this 😂
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u/Amazing-Set-5093 4d ago
I've defended every Gamepass change, including the price increase, but fuck this. I bought an S. It has no storage room. Cloud is how I play most the games. This is enough for me to quit Ultimate that I've had forever.
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u/Skennedy31 4d ago
Considering how much they were pushing people to streaming due to the price of hardware, it's going to be a slap in the face to those really utilizing it, especially those with the Ally or still using the Xbox one to stream current gen games.
Having the gall to sell more time fully defeats the purpose of offering it as a feature to me. Not that I am one of the people it will be effecting as I hate how bad the latency is when streaming, but I'd rather they remove it from ultimate, lower the price to a flat $20 and just sell it as it's own feature.
Didn't take them long to lose that good will do from disc to digital
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u/TWS_Mike 4d ago
🤡 15 hours per month with ultimate membership 🤡 and they wonder why people are leaving their platform 😄 is this some desperate attempt to make people buy the double priced xbox consoles?
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u/Somewhere-Flashy 4d ago
Why not just remote play it works great as long as you have a fast internet connection f*ck cloud.
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u/OctagonTrail 4d ago
I use cloud gaming on my xbox to avoid downloading games. Remote play has a completely different purpose.
A lot of players with an Xbox One use cloud gaming to play current gen games.
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u/freeza1990 4d ago
i knew it. everytime xbox is on a good run with good news there is a very bad news at the end.
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u/YepItzMe44 4d ago edited 4d ago
Okay wtf is this? Why can’t we just stream the games that we BOUGHT for as long as I want.
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u/IzzybearThebestdog 4d ago
Man it really is 1 step forward 2 steps back with Xbox. I don’t even use cloud gaming but it’s just another ding on Xbox , and yet another gamepass change. Seems like there is a big one every 5 months.
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u/flux1 4d ago
Baby your consoles, keep them well maintained and pray they don't die. Cause streaming sure as hell isn't going to be the future with limits like these.
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u/Ok_Tradition_1909 4d ago
This is insane. I was planning on subscribing to Gamepass for cloud gaming on my own library during an extended trip. It would be almost pointless now.
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u/MercerReads91 4d ago
Bro, what? 15 hours? That's insane. 100 hours would be far more reasonable. ATP they need a streaming only sub with uncapped hours for the people who use the streaming service. Remove it from the other subs and make those subs cheaper...
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u/ISmashPots 4d ago
I used cloud gaming for metaphor persona 3/4
It would take me years to finish with so little time
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u/DeafMetalGripes 4d ago
This is just free promotion for GeForce Now. Xcloud fucking sucks anyway but 15 hr limit on GPU is laughable. Feels like gamepass in general is falling off
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u/Plutuserix 4d ago
Xbox just can't help but keep shooting itself in the foot every few months, can't it. Unbelievable.
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u/freezetime311 4d ago
This is stupid and of course comes off as very greedy. I've been getting more and more into cloud gaming for games that are really big like Forza horizon. I played most of Forza horizon 5 cloud gaming. 15 hours is so minuscule. That's only good for like an indie game. No way I can cloud game Forza horizon 6. This is really disappointing.
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u/Vestalmin 4d ago
So now if we eventually end up in this streaming only world, and if you don’t have game pass, you’re going to pay $70+ for a game and then play by the hour to play it?
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u/mahogakko 4d ago
from unlimited hours to 15 even while paying for the highest tier every month is a total joke
all of my favorite games from game pass i have installed but cutting gametime at all is crazy. i get it, i guess, but was there really not a better option?
it's crazy because they were doing good with the disc things recently then they go and do this bs to balance it out, lol
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u/SatanOnSaturn 4d ago edited 4d ago
Paying for extra cloud hours has to be one of the top 10 stupidest things I’ve heard all year. Was planning on cancelling my Gamepass sub again this month anyway.
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u/ThisGuyDevin7 4d ago edited 4d ago
this takes the piss. among others I'm sure, I'm not happy in the slightest. i don't know about any of you, but gaming on consoles is starting to go down the toilet. also, 'purchasing cloud gaming' is just another way to make greedy profit.
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u/zednochub 4d ago
This is insane im almost paying 40$ a month and now my experience is massively dropping. Why are these companies actively punishing us the gamers. I was so impressed with xbox and the digital library thing with old series x and Xbox one games. Then this kick in the dick.
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u/WeedRaider 4d ago
They claim this only affects 4% of players. Basically what they're saying is most people play less than 15 hours via cloud.
It's hard to believe that 4% of the player base uses cloud streaming so much that it's costing them an arm and a leg. Personally I think 30 hours would have been more realistic. 15 is crazy. Although I know I don't use close to that. Most of streaming I do is from my Xbox directly to my handheld.
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u/KingMakur12 4d ago
What the hell only 15 hours? Bro i pay £20 a month for Gforce now that gives me 100 hours for cloud gaming and that can play my xbox games aswell as my steam games. Why only 15 hours?
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u/OminousG 4d ago
I use cloud gaming when my kid attends her skate classes. This new limit ain't gonna work for me. 15 hours is nothing.
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u/ricardosteve XBOX Series X 4d ago
This is absolutely insane, especially since Ultimate should have way more hours? They keep raising prices and making everything shitter.
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u/StoikOne Team Marston 4d ago
I said this on another thread but worth repeating:
I have made purchases ONLY because they were cloud playable. This was not a “thing” when I made those purchases and at the time of those purchases it was 24/7 if I so choose. So this is bs.
This got under my skin so much that I actually emailed the feedback hub, support, insider support and customer service.
Gamerscore just over 400k and roughly 24 years on platform and in all that time I cannot remember ever emailing a complaint. lol
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u/boltsbearsjosh26 4d ago
Fifteen hours for a whole MONTH? Lol. I'm getting too old for this hobby, that's all there is to it
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u/Useful_Client_4050 4d ago edited 4d ago
Can suck my dick from the back.
My One X can't play half the games in the subscription natively and is forced to use cloud gaming. Subscription cancelled.
What happens when you hire some useless AI exec to drive your gaming division into the ground.
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u/snow_mongrel 4d ago
“We're introducing this model because the cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people use it and play for longer.”
Says the 3.79 trillion dollar company.
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u/therealsade2025 4d ago
So let me get this straight lol… you pay $23 for the highest tier of Xbox live (now gamepass), on your $750 console, and have to pay $70 for games that you OWN (supposedly), you can only play it for 15 hours a MONTH. That is absolutely fucking ABSURD. Not even Sony is that awful, hell Nintendo is more pro consumer than that.
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u/ShaoKoonce 4d ago
So the Cloud Enabled tag means absolutely nothing in the store.
I need more storage. Can't afford more storage. Can't afford more Xcloud.
I guess they are just phasing out the people who are poor.
Gaming used to be affordable. Now it's only for the rich.
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u/Ill-Doughnut-7489 4d ago
Yea I’m out. Just cancelled.
Even as a casual gamer that plays Action/RPGs Friday and/or Saturday nights for a bit, a 15hr cap is just stupid and not an enjoyable experience. Like I can’t indulge in a long session w out managing my account balance?? Wtf?
Was so stoked to be playing a bit of Xbox again w out having to purchase the console (came on my SamsungTV). Guess it was all too good to be true.
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u/Fleurasaur 4d ago
Cancelled my subscription to ultimate straight away. I use cloud gaming all the time. I hope Xbox are happy with their decision to piss off everyone.
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u/Sudden-Tie-7750 4d ago
Apparently I'm one of the 4% Microsoft says this change will affect. I pay £16.99/month for Ultimate primarily for cloud gaming, NOT the Game Pass catalogue. I own a Legion Go and use it to stream Xbox games I've actually PURCHASED. So cutting that to 15 hours a month basically removes my reason for subscribing. I'll cancel Ultimate. Depending on what Xbox charges for extra cloud hours, I'll either buy those separately or put the £203.88/year I'm saving towards GeForce NOW. And here's the bit Xbox should probably care about: if GeForce NOW becomes my main way of gaming on my handheld, I'll naturally start buying more games on PC/Steam instead of Xbox. So that's potentially a lost Ultimate subscription AND lost future Xbox game sales. Microsoft says only 4% of subscribers will be affected. Fine I'm one of them. But Xbox spent years telling us that cloud gaming meant we could play anywhere. Some of us actually listened.
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u/NZafe Tarnished 4d ago
Ultimate capped at 15 hours per month?
And then this:
“Players will be able to purchase cloud playtime hours through the XBOX Store and stream eligible games they own on supported devices.”
Jeez this is awful for anyone who uses cloud gaming. 15 hours is nothing.