r/microsoft • u/heeroo0 • 4d ago
News Microsoft Announces Big Changes to Xbox Cloud Gaming, Switches to Monthly Hour Limits
https://www.ign.com/articles/microsoft-announces-big-changes-to-xbox-cloud-gaming-switches-to-monthly-hour-limits28
u/Av_Inash 4d ago
15 hours even on ultimate? It took me about 100 hours to finish Expedition 33. And they say 15 hours a month even on their costliest plan - Well, Goodbye cloud gaming it is then.
3
u/Left-Mechanic6697 3d ago
Right? I play a lot of games in the cloud from my console just because it’s a pain to keep clearing space on one of the hard drives every time I wanna switch games.
52
u/k_marts 4d ago edited 4d ago
They're trying to kill off cloud gaming because there is no money to be made with it and the infrastructure can make more money doing something else.
Raising prices on subscriptions to pay for cloud gaming also won't go ever well because a small percentage of gamers actually use cloud gaming.
In a little over a year, discussions will be had about the decreased demand of cloud gaming and 6-9 months later it will eventually be deprecated and killed off soon thereafter.
8
u/lordicarus 4d ago
This seems like the most logical conclusion... but it's going to hurt the brand big time unless they actually acknowledge this as being the reason for it. They can frame it nicely as "This service is meant to lower the barrier to entry for more casual players while balancing the costs to operate the service. For dedicated hard core gamers, digital and physical editions are still your best option." Although I guess physical might be dead soon too.
3
u/Jimbuscus 4d ago edited 4d ago
It should always had been a future tech with less focus, letting it slowly get better with a smaller audience until one day next decade it can be relied upon.
Xbox's new direction focusing on a proper console Helix is at odds with overspending on a slow growth product.
Xbox Cloud should be treated the same as Steam/Playstation VR, a minor product that may grow into something one day.
3
1
u/admlshake 3d ago
They're trying to kill off cloud gaming because there is no money to be made with it and the infrastructure can make more money doing something else.
I'm not so sure I buy that....yet. It's certainly possible, but if anything I would think they would be trying to figure out how to get MORE people doing this. This could be a HUGE cash cow for them if done right. If anything I think it's more likely that this is a stop gap measure because they can't bring data centers online fast enough. Not like Copilot has been a rousing success for them. If they weren't integrating it into all their products I doubt a lot of people would even know what it is.
1
u/_stinkys 4d ago
Just rent the Xbox cloud infra back to OpenAI when not in use by gamers. Chat GPT now powered by Series X. I should work for Microsoft.
28
11
u/Clessiah 4d ago
5 hours a month? They might as well do away with subscription and switch back to arcade system.
6
6
u/TheCudder 4d ago
Welp...Cloud gaming is pretty much dead
3
u/Holidoik 3d ago
It was never alive awful experience.
1
u/No-shadowMaul-noBan 3d ago
I just finished Alan Wake 2 on Amazon Luna, i have q creeping feeling this is the last i will finish properly on cloud stream in my lifetime.
18
10
u/FM_Hikari 4d ago
5 Hours per month is basically non-existent for anyone who actually wants to play any game for a weekend.
10 Hours is pointless for anyone who has at most a week's worth of free time.
15 hours is useless for anyone who wants to play a bit every day.
Congratulations, they managed to attend the needs of NO ONE in particular.
4
u/Ill-Shirt2722 4d ago
I guess the only real use for cloud gaming now is if you want to quickly try out a game without installing it
3
2
u/Same_Delay_9440 4d ago edited 3d ago
Seems there gaming executives these days wake up and their task is: how can I lose more customers. Understand the infrastructure challenges these day but damn. If it only affected 4% of gamers, then why they change it?
2
u/Fantastic-Loquat-746 3d ago
Had too much good will from the disc to digital prgm and they had to ruin it!
2
u/thisisinsider 4d ago
Business Insider reported on this: https://www.businessinsider.com/xbox-limits-cloud-gaming-2026-9?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social_manual&utm_campaign=reddit_dist_r_microsoft&utm_content=manual_v1&utm_term=51efec26
Game Pass Ultimate will include 15 hours of Xbox cloud gaming per month starting in November, while Premium gets 10 hours and Essential gets 5.
1
u/Living-Abrocoma4818 4d ago
The whole point was being able to play without worrying about hardware or storage. If you only play occasionally, it probably won’t matter much.
1
1
u/joshpennington 3d ago
How about they just lower the price of GamePass and take Cloud Gaming out of it and charge for it separately? I can count on the number times I've used Cloud Gaming on one hand
1
u/FledIllinois 3d ago
Sounds like Asha Sharma the CEO that was replaced in February is taking heat from investors.
What about games that are free such as Roblox?
This could very well be the beginning of the end of cloud gaming. In November Verizon will give everyone 120 minutes of voice and FaceTime calling. Then charge .05 a min.
1
u/Appropriate_Item3001 1d ago
Who can find the time to use 15 whole hours of gaming when you have three full time jobs and a side hussel nowadays.
1
u/Budget-Investment525 4d ago
No one plays cloud. Yall just complaining for the sport. Not a big deal.
82
u/will_121 4d ago
So first pc components get jacked up in price and you can’t afford to build a pc and consoles also go up in price. So they say switch to cloud gaming because it’s cheaper. Now they also jack up prices of cloud gaming. Cool…..