Another week, another piece of potentially industry-shaking changes to Xbox Game Pass. In the wake of Game Pass launching on Amazon Fire TV devices earlier this month, then a subsequent price hike, new reports suggest Microsoft could double down on cloud gaming, and as someone who enjoys playing the likes of Forza Horizon 5 on, y’know, an actual Xbox Series X, these rumors have me worried big time.
In an article by Windows Central reporter Jez Corden, it emerges the Redmond giant could be exploring a new Game Pass tier that is cloud-only. “I’ve heard that Microsoft is working towards a cloud-only version of its subscription that would be cheaper and more approachable to buy than Xbox Game Pass Ultimate,” Corden claims. “This would be designed around users who simply aren’t interested in buying an Xbox console, which could include competing console platforms.”
Corden goes on to say he believes this may give Microsoft the opportunity to allow gamers to “double dip”, by letting them purchase digital titles as part of the rumored cloud-only subscription tier.
This does make a degree of sense as Windows Central has previously reported that Phil Spencer (CEO of Microsoft Gaming), wants games Xbox players already own to be brought into the Game Pass fold. Though this would depend on the iconic company completing successful deals with the license holders of those games. This doesn't sound like an outrageous notion, especially as titles disappear from Game Pass all the time.
Microsoft has reportedly been looking into introducing Game Pass tiers with ads"
Another claim Corden makes is that he’s heard “very tentative rumors that the Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family Plan experiment isn’t dead." In case you’ve forgotten about this service, it was trialed in August 2022, allowing up to five people to share a multi-user Xbox Game Pass Ultimate account.
Though it was scrapped the following September, if Microsoft decides to give it another go, it could possibly be more cost-effective for the firm; especially as Ultimate has just increased from $16.99 to $19.99p/m in the States, £12.99 to £14.99p/m in the U.K. and AU$22.95p/m in Australia (up from a monthly fee of AU$19.95).
Corden’s final potential bombshell? The reporter says he’s heard Microsoft has been looking into introducing Game Pass tiers with ads, though he then quickly claims the company “isn’t actively working towards an ad-based Game Pass tier.”
A cloudy day for Xbox?
Currently, Xbox Cloud Gaming is only available to Ultimate subscribers and not folks who are on the newly-named Xbox Game Pass Standard. The base tier looks like an increasingly bad deal for Xbox players, as it is removing day one access to new games, which previously has always been the service’s most attractive selling point. It means that if you want to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 when it launches on October 24, you’ll need a Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
I’ve owned an Xbox Series X since it launched back in November 2020, and all this swirling speculation has me concerned. The big issue as I see it, is that in its current form, Xbox Cloud Gaming kinda sucks. Plagued by artifacting and input lag and limited to 1080p at 60 fps, the few times I’ve played around with it on my 1GB fiber optic connection, the experience has been subpar to say the least.
Now obviously I’m not exactly the target audience for Xbox Cloud Gaming, seeing as I can play the best Xbox Series X games through my Game Pass for PC subscription on an Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU. If a cloud-only tier of the service does launch, I have to imagine it’s being squarely targeted at gamers who want to stream games over their phones. Look, I’m not judging folks who choose to go that route. What I will say is that if you are planning to stream Xbox titles over a smartphone, please consider picking up a device such as the Razer Kishi V2 Pro. Speaking of which…
Right now, the Razer Kishi V2 Pro Mobile Gaming Controller Xbox Edition for Android is on sale for $81 at Amazon. That’s a whopping 45% discount off the standard list price of $149, making for an impressive saving of $68.
As someone who’s been playing Xbox games since 2002 — dear Lord, I’m old — I just can’t recommend Xbox Cloud Gaming in its current form, especially when there are far, far superior cloud gaming services out there. Namely GeForce Now Ultimate. Nvidia’s top-tier streaming sub is comfortably the best I’ve ever used, and it’s not remotely close. Supporting up to 4K resolution and up to 240 fps, it frankly embarrasses Microsoft’s attempt at cloud gaming. Hey, that’s what the power of a cloud-based RTX 4080 GPU gets you.
In a fairly telling move that suggests the Xbox division is aware that its streaming platform isn’t quite up to snuff, the fact you now have the option to stream Game Pass titles over GeForce Now directly from a game’s official Microsoft page says quite a lot. My hope here is that now Microsoft and Nvidia have signed off on a 10 year partnership, Team Green may assist Microsoft in improving the technical quality of Xbox Cloud Streaming.
Whatever happens going forward, even the most casual fans of Microsoft gaming deserve better than the current state Xbox Cloud Gaming finds itself in. If the House that Bill Built can substantially improve the quality of its streaming service, I’ll find this whole rumored notion of a cloud-only Game Pass tier a lot less offensive.
In the here and now, though, I’ll continue to kick Covenant ass in Halo Infinite through the Xbox app on one of the best gaming PCs.
