Game Pass subscribers, your gaming time is about to come with a limit.
Starting in November 2026, Microsoft is introducing monthly limits on Xbox Cloud Gaming:
Ultimate: 15 hours/month ,Premium: 10 hours/month, Essential: 5 hours/month.
Until now, eligible Game Pass subscribers could use cloud gaming without a monthly hour limit. Once those hours are gone, players will have to buy additional cloud-gaming time ,although Microsoft hasn’t revealed the price yet.
Microsoft says the change is due to the rising cost of running cloud gaming and estimates that only around 4% of Game Pass subscribers will be affected.
There’s also a new twist: from November, you won’t need Game Pass to use Xbox Cloud Gaming. Players will be able to purchase cloud-play time and stream eligible games they already own.
But for gamers who already pay for Game Pass, one question is already hanging over the update:
If you’re already paying for the subscription, should you really have to pay again to keep playing?
