r/gaming • u/Force_Hammer • 17h ago

Microsoft to impose time limits on Xbox cloud gaming subscribers as costs continue to climb

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/03/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-cloud-limits.html
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155

u/Calimar777 17h ago

I feel like people who are content with only gaming for 5-15 hours per month but also care enough to pay for a subscription to play is an extremely small demographic. Who is this appealing to? Might as well completely end the service.

28

u/Bubbly_Army 17h ago

That’s the plan.

16

u/Davegoestomayor 15h ago

Yeah this is idiot math, anyone who actively subscribes to game pass for cloud gaming is probably well beyond 15hrs, they’re all going to unsubscribe or stop using the service. Some moron did a P95 distribution curve of all accounts based on monthly hours streaming, not factoring in the fact that probably 90% of the accounts are between 0-1hr, I.e. they don’t use cloud gaming

2

u/ANGLVD3TH 8h ago

They're probably hoping these folks underestimate their usage and run up the bills on extra hours. They don't cut you off at the limits, they just start charging by the hour after.

4

u/Twinblade96 12h ago

I am the mythical cloud gaming user that plays over 15 hours. My internet is pretty good so I don't experience input lag or screen tearing almost at all. Once in a Blue moon, maybe, when my wife is watching a movie or livestream at the same time.

I use the service to:

  1. Play on my phone as a handheld when it's convenient or I'm on the go.

  2. On my Xbox one to play series X games

  3. On high storage games (200+ gb's) so I don't have to clear my hard drive and download them.

For these purposes, it's really good and I definitely use it for far more than 15 hours a month. If it were maybe 75-100 I could understand and it probably wouldn't affect me much, but this is beyond ridiculous.

1

u/chrisbru 8h ago

I’d bet a lot of money they did actual analysis on users to make this decision. Let’s not claim Microsoft, one of the most profitable companies in the world, is unable to do profitability and retention modeling.

The harsh truth is probably that a lot of paying subscribers fall under the 15 hour limit, and the ones that don’t are not profitable enough or even a net loss so they don’t care if they cancel.

4

u/lavapig_love 16h ago

This would be the mobile gaming audience at best. Maybe.

3

u/mucho-gusto 10h ago

Their demo is people who forgot to unsubscribe

1

u/WilliamLermer 5h ago

You are thinking short-term. The current long-term goal is to make cloud gaming and computing the new standard. Companies realized they can buy up all the hardware and rent it out to users is way more lucrative.

You will buy basic terminal hardware to access the cloud to do whatever you want and it will be subscription based with limited time slots, paying premium for larger time frames.

Think of the worst data plan imaginable for your phone. This will be PC of the future. And you will love it and pay for it because there won't be any alternatives

This entire sector is about to disrupt all our lives in the most painful ways and it will be glorious days for the shareholders

You think it's stupid but that won't matter because you will be required to use it.

Capitalism is for winners and people like us are destined to make it happen

1

u/tigress666 4h ago

It’s gaming. It would suck but I don’t have to use it and at those prices I just couldn’t afford to play. It honestly would probably be better for me anyways. 

It’s a luxury product and ms should keep in mind that no, even if Sony and Nintendo disappeared no one has to buy their service. And if it’s not affordable people won’t. 

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u/Hour_Health_4593 15h ago

It’s just cloud gaming, not downloading games (where there’s no cap), and the very % of people that use > 15 hours of cloud gaming per month are using it A LOT. Most people just download. This is a cost measuring measure to take out outliers from their gaming base (which is shitty but not quite what is being pushed in the article)