r/gaming 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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u/JimmyDejesu 17h ago

I feel like Im having dejavu.

warned people against going all digital now its inevitable.

for the love of god dont encourage cloud/streaming games, its a stupid idea

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u/Endure94 16h ago

Selfhosted game streaming? Hell yeah.

Corpo game streaming? Hell nah.

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u/Stahlreck 15h ago

tbf I have a feeling demand for this would be rising because of current hardware prices so...nothing selfhosted can fix really.

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u/Endure94 15h ago

Theoretically a cool friend could let you play on their pc when they arent using it.

But then youd have to have friends, and friends with OK hardware to do it.

Yeah, actually, youre right on this one.

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u/ExtremePrivilege 16h ago

The plan is that hardware becomes too expensive for the average consumer. A $13,000 PS6 or a $25,000 gaming PC to run anything remotely modern. At that point the vast majority of gamers will require cloud gaming and the subscriptions that go along with it.

Thats where we’re headed. The question is how long it will take to get there.

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u/PromiscuousScoliosis PC 16h ago

Then once you have your captives, jack those prices up higher bby

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u/forchinski 16h ago

I LOVE RENT SEEKING I FUCKING LOVE NOT OWNING ANYTHING

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u/dfddfsaadaafdssa 16h ago edited 16h ago

The upcoming generation. I would be surprised if Sony isn't already designing a thin client version of the PS6. They will probably call it the PS6 Lite or some shit. Manufacturing costs are simply too high and there is enough money on the table to justify its existence.

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u/ohgeeLA 15h ago

Keep trump in office and I give it about 10 years.

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u/cheese83746 15h ago

Fuck it, just going to mod all of my old consoles.

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u/ExtremePrivilege 15h ago

I mean… that’s what I do with cars. I have a 2001 Tacoma that’s probably older than half the people in this thread. But you can replace anything on it with a 10mm socket wrench. It has almost zero meaningful electronics. Windows roll up. No tape player or CD player. No infotainment system. No back up camera.

Did you hear BMW is trying to charge a subscription for you to use the heated seats and lane assist etc? Tesla is trying to charge a subscription for you to drive over like 85mph.

Technology brings rent seeking. I’ll keep my old pick up until I literally cannot keep it running. No tracking, no subscriptions. Just a machine that was meant to be simple and repairable.

It just doesn’t exist anymore.

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u/SgtBaxter 14h ago

good thing I have thousands of steam sale games waiting to play.

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u/roadkill21288 14h ago

It will backfire, fortunately for gamers. Nobody is becoming MORE financially secure in the near future, unless they’re already secure(wealthy). Despite what these corps think, gamers won’t subject themselves to endless misery like call of duty.

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u/Njoybeing 13h ago

Exactly how I saw this announcement. Xbox has seen reactions to projected prices for Helix. They know there are a lot of gamers who can't, or won't, pay what it is expected to cost consumers. All those gamers will look to cloud gaming so Xbox is pre- emptively jacking up the price of cloud gaming.

It's amazing to watch how they scheme to exploit even their poorest players. It's like they want us to find another hobby.

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u/lbreakjai 12h ago

People will just shift to something else. Same way traditional sports broadcasts lost relevance to video games.

Between libraries, public domain, and second hand, the cost of a book tends towards 0 for hours of entertainment. I spent more time reading public domain classics on a ten years old kindle these last couple of months than I spent playing.

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u/ExtremePrivilege 12h ago

Sure, many hobbies have become unaffordable for most hobbyists.

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u/between_ewe_and_me 15h ago

That's not really what deja vu is