{"id":156532,"date":"2025-08-18T19:51:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T19:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/156532\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T19:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T19:51:10","slug":"microsoft-hints-at-more-affordable-xbox-cloud-gaming-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/156532\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft hints at \u2018more affordable\u2019 Xbox Cloud Gaming plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years ago we learned, thanks to the FTC, that Microsoft was working on a separate \u201cdedicated\u201d version<\/a> of Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft Gaming CFO Tim Stuart then hinted, a few months later<\/a>, that there could be a free version Xbox Cloud Gaming in exchange for ads. Now, Microsoft is hinting at making Xbox Cloud Gaming \u201cmore affordable\u201d again.<\/p>\n

Jason Ronald, Microsoft\u2019s VP of Next Generation, has appeared on the company\u2019s official Xbox podcast today, to discuss Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Play Anywhere, and Microsoft\u2019s next-gen chip partnership with AMD. At the moment Xbox Cloud Gaming is only part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, meaning you have to pay $19.99 a month to get access to xCloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things we see is there\u2019s a lot of players who use Game Pass Ultimate to access the cloud, whether that\u2019s the primary way they play, or an additional way to play on the go,\u201d says Ronald. \u201cI think for us, it really opens up the opportunity to make it much more affordable, and make it more accessible to players. Whether that\u2019s going into new regions, or new ways to actually access the [Xbox] cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s hints of a more affordable version of Xbox Cloud Gaming come just hours before Nvidia has some \u201cmajor\u201d GeForce Now news<\/a>. Nvidia\u2019s cloud gaming service is far superior to Xbox Cloud Gaming, thanks to PC-powered performance, better bitrates, higher resolution gameplay, and lower latency. Microsoft has even integrated GeForce Now into its own Xbox game pages.<\/p>\n

Ronald stops short of announcing a new Xbox Cloud Gaming tier, but it\u2019s clear that\u2019s been Microsoft\u2019s thinking for a few years now. Microsoft started expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming beyond just the Game Pass library<\/a> last year, with the ability to stream games you own as long as you\u2019re an Ultimate subscriber.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an opportunity to bring that Ultimate paywall down, especially for mobile streaming. Microsoft had planned to sell games directly in its Xbox app for Android and allow customers to immediately stream those games directly to their phones and tablets, but a legal battle<\/a> has put those plans on hold.<\/p>\n

Microsoft is currently preparing the next generation of Xbox Cloud Gaming, alongside its next-gen Xbox console work. \u201cTogether with AMD, we\u2019re designing dedicated silicon and hardware to enable the next generation of gaming experiences,\u201d says Ronald. \u201cWe\u2019re investing deeply in the next generation of rendering technologies, such as neural rendering, which will bring a new level of quality to the games that you\u2019re having.\u201d<\/p>\n

That next generation of Xbox hardware will likely see Xbox and Windows move even closer together, alongside the choice of different stores for Xbox owners. It\u2019s also an opportunity for Microsoft to bring more AI-powered features to the next Xbox.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also investing in dedicated silicon to enable the next generation of AI capabilities, that will be transformative in how you actually experience your gameplay,\u201d says Ronald. Microsoft will \u201cstart experimenting\u201d with some of these AI-powered features on the upcoming Xbox Ally X device, because it has a dedicated NPU chip just like Microsoft\u2019s Copilot Plus PCs.<\/p>\n

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