THE CRUNCH
Microsoft has started selling Xbox Cloud Gaming time to people who don't subscribe to Game Pass. Xbox Insiders can buy prepaid Cloud Playtime packs at what the company calls introductory launch pricing: 10 hours for $3.99, 25 hours for $7.99, or 50 hours for $11.99. That works out at roughly 40, 32 and 24 cents per streaming hour respectively. The packs are ad-free, come with shorter wait times and higher-quality streaming, and the hours don't expire until they're used up.
A broader rollout is planned for November, when the packs will sit alongside new monthly cloud caps for subscribers. From that month, Game Pass Ultimate ($22.99) includes 15 hours of cloud gaming, Premium ($14.99) gets 10, and Essential ($9.99) just five. Microsoft expects the caps to affect around 4% of subscribers, and says anyone who runs out can buy extra playtime through the Xbox Store. It seems likely these packs will double as top-ups, though Microsoft hasn't confirmed that.
There's a catch worth noting: the packs are for streaming eligible games you already own, not access to the Game Pass library. Microsoft is also still testing a free, ad-supported option for Insiders, limited to owned games and one-hour sessions. Separately, Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball has said on X that Microsoft won't stream Grand Theft Auto VI to PCs, suggesting the browsers and apps that normally reach Xbox Cloud Gaming won't get it, though it's not yet clear whether streaming will be limited to Xbox consoles.