Microsoft opens up Xbox Cloud Gaming with new pay-as-you-go option
Microsoft is trying once again to tempt people without an Xbox into its ecosystem.
Microsoft is trying once again to tempt people without an Xbox into its ecosystem.
by Sep 3, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC
Image: Microsoft
Tom Warren is a senior correspondent and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years.
Microsoft says it will let anyone access Xbox Cloud Gaming in November, without the need to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass. The change to a pay-as-you-go model is part of some sweeping changes to Xbox Cloud Gaming today, and is designed for people who don’t use cloud access enough to warrant a monthly subscription.
“Players will be able to purchase cloud playtime hours through the Xbox Store and stream eligible games they own on supported devices,” says the Xbox team. “This will provide another option for people who want occasional access to cloud gaming or do not want a recurring Game Pass subscription.”
This pay-as-you-go model comes alongside some major limits on cloud gaming for Game Pass subscribers. Microsoft is imposing monthly hour limits, with Ultimate subscribers limited to just 15 hours each month. This could force many Game Pass subscribers to pay for hourly bundles, or use cloud gaming less.
The pay-as-you-go option seems to be targeted more at gamers who don’t own an Xbox, or those who primarily play from a phone. Microsoft is also testing free, ad-supported cloud gaming for Xbox Insiders, which could also help open cloud gaming access to more people without an Xbox.
Microsoft has been trying to attract more players to its Xbox ecosystem through cloud and mobile for years now. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has even set an ambitious and nearly impossible goal to make Xbox “one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day.”
Microsoft previously tried to launch an Xbox mobile store, with the aim of allowing people to purchase an Xbox game and then immediately stream it to their device. The company started rolling out the ability to purchase games and DLC inside its Xbox mobile app last year, but it had to remove the remote play option to adhere to Apple’s App Store policies. You still can’t buy an Xbox game in the Xbox mobile app on iOS and then stream it inside that same app. Apple’s policies force people to manually navigate to the Xbox Cloud Gaming mobile website on a browser to get access to cloud gaming.
Microsoft blamed the delay to its Xbox mobile store on Apple last year, and also said in 2024 that it had built an Xbox game store for Android that it couldn’t launch due to Google’s store policies. Microsoft has continued to battle legally to try and open up Apple and Google’s stores, and Xbox chief Asha Sharma said earlier this year that the “idea” of an Xbox mobile store “is not dead.”
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