- MSFT
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Video gamers may begin to more frequently experience the feeling of frantically shoving quarters into an arcade machine to extend playtime.
Microsoft-owned Xbox has launched a pay-as-you-go feature that has angered some users and is part of a larger trend of video game fans paying more for titles they do not own.
That comes as the Xbox division is facing a widespread business reset as it works to course correct from slumping revenue as a result of plummeting hardware sales and Game Pass subscription losses. The division has slashed 20% of its workforce, about 3,200 roles, and has begun selling once-exclusive titles like Halo across competing <a href="https://comicvibe.com/asus-proart-p14-vs-p16-gaming-ai-and-battery-life/” title=”ASUS ProArt P14 vs. P16: Gaming, AI, and Battery Life”>gaming platforms to boost sales.
Xbox launched Cloud Gaming in 2020 as a cheaper alternative to physical games, arguing that effectively renting a title would provide the opportunity to play a game without the financial commitment of purchasing a console and disk.
A Game Pass subscription, which began as an online service to download games to your console, initially gave users free and unlimited access to Cloud Gaming.
But in September, the company changed how customers were able to access Cloud Gaming. Instead of the Game Pass monthly subscription granting unlimited access to the library, gameplay hours were capped.
Last week, Xbox implemented additional changes. Once subscribers run out of playable hours of cloud gaming, they can use a new service called Cloud Playtime to buy more time.
Game Pass subscribers already now pay between $10 and $23 per month for five to 15 hours of cloud gaming, while playing games downloaded to one’s console remains unlimited. With Cloud Playtime, 10 additional monthly hours of cloud gaming will cost $4, 25 hours costs $8, and 50 hours costs $12.
Gamers have criticized Xbox’s new pay-as-you-go system, with YouTuber Yong Yea saying that as gamers have to pay more fees to stream titles, the affordability argument for cloud gaming becomes moot. Not only are users paying more to access games on the cloud, but they don’t even have the benefit of owning the game itself, as they would if they had bought the physical console and game.
Xbox did not immediately respond to Fortune‘s request for comment about gamers’ concerns about the new payment system.
Sony Playstation’s game ownership disputes
As more gaming companies rely on subscription systems, video game fans are finding there are limitations to the convenience of renting or downloading titles.
