Quick Summary
Xbox Cloud Gaming will limit playtime to a maximum of 15 hours per month for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members starting in November. However, certain countries like Australia, Brazil, Poland, and Germany will remain exempt from this restriction.
Details
Recently, Microsoft announced new limitations on Xbox Cloud Gaming for Game Pass subscribers, specifically impacting Ultimate members. While this change will take effect globally, subscribers from certain regions will not be subject to these new restrictions as they will maintain their current benefits.
Residents in prominent locations like the UK, US, and Canada will have their cloud gaming privileges curtailed, unlike some users in regions where contract changes mid-subscription are legally prohibited. As a result, existing subscribers in the aforementioned exempt countries won’t face limitations as long as they remain subscribed continuously.
Implications
Current subscribers in exempt regions received communications assuring them that their existing benefits would remain intact, so long as they are on an auto-recurring plan. On the other hand, if users cancel and rejoin, they will face the new restrictions based on their subscription tier—Ultimate members will receive 15 hours, Premium 10 hours, and Essential 5 hours per month.
Although only about 4% of Xbox Game Pass users exceed the new limits, the decision raises concerns about the future of the service, particularly given previous changes to subscription terms. This alteration in policy has sparked discussions regarding the overall perception and evolution of Xbox Cloud Gaming.
