In a surprising move for a company looking to be a leader in both the cloud space and video game industries, Microsoft has made a daring decision that will cause millions of gamers to lose out on the available time they have playing their favorite games on Xbox consoles.
The company is setting restrictions for all Game Pass subscribers, limiting them on how much time they can spend playing their favorite games via the cloud each month. A decision that seems to move in the opposite direction when just about everything is pushing to be in the cloud, including new and upcoming services from the company, as it and others continue to push gamers away from physical discs and toward digital content.
Starting in November, Microsoft announced that all tiers of Game Pass (Essential, Premium, and Ultimate) will face these restrictions. Not only that, but the numbers (hours per month) are surprisingly low, which means that a lot of gamers will likely be looking for alternative solutions. The breakdown is as follows:
- Game Pass Ultimate: 15 hours each month
- Game Pass Premium: 10 hours each month
- Game Pass Essential: 5 hours each month
If gamers want to continue playing their favorite titles, they will be forced to cough up even more cash to unlock additional time through paywalls.
The response from gamers all over the internet isn’t pretty. Many have taken to online communities to express their dissatisfaction with the decision, threatening to leave the service for something else if it comes to it. Currently, it is estimated that Microsoft has over 30 million Game Pass subscribers. This could be a huge blow to the service if it sees a mass exodus of players looking for better options.
Microsoft stated that the reason for this decision was due to resources, with the following response: “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. ”
