Microsoft has revealed how much its Xbox cloud gaming service will cost, with 50 hours of streaming sold at an introductory price of $11.99.
This information comes from an article on the official Xbox news site, which explains that starting today, Xbox Insiders will be able to stream games using the paid service without needing an active Game Pass subscription. This comes ahead of a planned rollout to all Xbox players in November. These paid plans provide an ad-free version of the free cloud gaming service revealed earlier this year.
The full introductory price range is as follows:
- 10 hours of gameplay for $3.99
- 25 hours of gameplay for $7.99
- 50 hours of gameplay for $11.99
It’s worth noting that even people paying for the Xbox cloud streaming service will face wait times during peak hours, although the blog post states that those waits will be shorter.
Microsoft previously revealed that monthly duration limits would be imposed on its paid Xbox cloud gaming service, although it insisted only a fraction of players would reach that cutoff point. A report claims that a 15-hour limit on cloud gaming service Game Pass Ultimate was present because that’s when Xbox starts losing money. Offering a cloud gaming service requires server infrastructure, computing costs, and network and bandwidth costs.
As an aside, Sony’s cloud gaming service, PlayStation Now, charged $9.99 for a month of game streaming over a decade ago.
Xbox is currently in the middle of a massive restructuring process, during which more than 3,000 employees are to be laid off. In a recent report, additional waves of layoffs are planned for the end of the month, in November and January.
Gn tech
