Microsoft may cut Xbox Cloud Gaming cost

Microsoft could soon make Xbox Cloud Gaming more affordable. The company has hinted at a new plan that might lower the barrier for players who just want cloud access without paying for the full Xbox Game Pass Ultimate bundle.

According to The Verge, Jason Ronald, VP of Next Generation at Microsoft, acknowledged that many subscribers mainly use the cloud option. The comments reportedly came from Ronald in a recent appearance on the official Xbox podcast.

Apparently, for Xbox cloud players, paying the full $19.99 per month for Ultimate, including PC and console benefits, feels like overkill. That’s why Microsoft is exploring ways to offer a lower-cost entry point dedicated to the cloud.

As you may know, Xbox Cloud Gaming is tied exclusively to Game Pass Ultimate, priced at nearly $20 a month. That makes it less appealing for people who don’t care about console perks but still want to stream games directly from the cloud.

That’s where a cloud-only tier would fill this gap and potentially open the service to a much wider audience. In the past, the company trialed the Game Pass Friends and Family plan, though it was eventually discontinued.

Rumors of a standalone cloud subscription also surfaced in mid-2024, suggesting the idea has been floating around internally for a while. As far as launch timeline and pricing are concerned, there’s no details yet.

However, if Microsoft goes on to launch a cloud-only plan, it will likely sit between the cost of standard Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate.