Xbox is making a change to Game Pass that probably won’t have many defenders online. Microsoft’s gaming division announced in a blog post this week that the cloud gaming service that has been included with Game Pass subscriptions for years will receive fairly strict time limits per month, starting in November. You’ll be limited to different amounts of time depending on the Game Pass tier you subscribe to: Game Pass Essential: 5 hours per month Game Pass Premium: 10 hours per month Game Pass Ultimate: 15 hours per month SEE ALSO: What ‘GTA 6’ looks like on Xbox Series S: What we know People who don’t subscribe to Game Pass will also be able to purchase hours in the Xbox Store, but the biggest point here is that no one will be able to stream Xbox games without limits anymore. Xbox’s blog post says this change will “only” affect four percent of Game Pass subscribers, but that could still prevent many people from playing whatever they want in November and beyond. Mashable Top Stories Speaking of which, Grand Theft Auto VI comes out in November. While it wouldn’t be eligible for Game Pass streaming at launch, there’s always a chance it could be added to the service months (or years) later. If that happens, you won’t be able to stream it for more than 15 hours a month. That’s not cool. This is just the latest in a series of not entirely positive headlines about Xbox over the last year or two. Between a big leadership change that saw AI executive Asha Sharma take over the brand, console price increases, and Xbox’s inclusion on the BDS boycott list in association with Microsoft’s partnership with the Israeli military, the atmosphere around Xbox in online gaming circles has been pretty rotten lately. For some reason, I don’t think imposing hourly limits on game streaming right when the biggest game of the decade is released is going to help. Topics Video Games Grand Theft Auto
