Microsoft is reportedly gearing up to announce a free version of Xbox Cloud Gaming. This new tier would feature advertisements and be available on various platforms including PC, Xbox consoles, handheld devices, and the web.
Sources indicate that this ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently undergoing internal testing and will not require an existing Game Pass subscription. A public testing phase is expected to begin soon, with a full launch anticipated in the coming months.
Details suggest that Microsoft is experimenting with a model that includes approximately two minutes of advertisements before a game can be streamed for free. There might also be a session limit of one hour, with a total of five hours of free play per month. However, these specifics could change before the official launch.
This development comes on the heels of recent controversies, including Microsoft facing backlash for increasing the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $19.99 to $29.99 per month, an annual increase of $120.
Microsoft justified the Ultimate price hike by citing an expanded catalog, new partner benefits like Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics, and upgraded streaming quality for Xbox Cloud Gaming, which has now officially exited its beta phase.
Interestingly, Microsoft also appears to have quietly removed the 10% discount on DLC for Game Pass games that Ultimate subscribers previously enjoyed, seemingly in favor of a new Rewards program.
According to Microsoft, the new $30 monthly Ultimate price reflects the ‘expanded catalog, new partner benefits, and upgraded cloud gaming experience.’
The updated pricing for Game Pass Ultimate became effective on October 1 for new subscribers and will apply to current subscribers starting November 4. Coinciding with this announcement, Microsoft added over 45 new games to Game Pass, including popular titles like Hogwarts Legacy.
The entire Game Pass model has been under increasing scrutiny within the gaming community. Recently, former Bethesda executive Pete Hines openly questioned Game Pass as a business strategy, with another former Microsoft executive echoing concerns about ‘weird inner tensions’ created by the subscription service.
In July, amidst a wave of layoffs across Xbox, Raphael Colantonio, founder of Microsoft-owned Arkane Studios, publicly criticized Game Pass, calling its subscription model ‘unsustainable.’ Colantonio, who established the developer behind Dishonored and Prey, and later WolfEye Studios, creators of Weird West, voiced his strong opinions on social media. He questioned why the ‘elephant in the room’ (Game Pass) wasn’t being discussed more openly.
When pressed on his views regarding Game Pass, which hosted Weird West as a day-one launch title in March 2022, Colantonio stated, ‘I think Gamepass is an unsustainable model that has been increasingly damaging the industry for a decade, subsidized by MS’s ‘infinite money,’ but at some point reality has to hit. I don’t think GP can co-exist with other models, they’ll either kill everyone else, or give up.’
Despite these criticisms, Microsoft maintains that ‘creator participation’ and ‘player engagement’ in Game Pass are at an all-time high. However, the company did not provide an updated subscriber count recently. Microsoft did highlight that the subscription service achieved a new annual revenue record of nearly $5 billion this year, following the releases of titles like The Elder Scrolls Oblivion: Remastered, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
The overall cost for Xbox fans has been a hot topic. After initially announcing an $80 price tag for upcoming holiday games, Microsoft quickly reversed course, settling on $70 for titles like The Outer Worlds 2 and offering reimbursements for pre-orders. Just last month, Xbox console prices in the U.S. also increased, attributed by Microsoft to ‘changes in the macroeconomic environment.’
Microsoft also drew attention by confirming a $999.99 price for the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally X handheld, with the standard ROG Xbox Ally priced at $599.99.