Xbox Game Pass just nerfed one its best features, as free perk becomes paid add-on

Just as Xbox Game Pass received a massive boost, the rug has been pulled beneath players’ feet with a new gaming time cap.

With the number of titles now on Game Pass, and many more being added in the coming weeks, it looks like a good time to be an Xbox owner.

That was especially true when new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced last week that a new disc-to-digital programme makes physical game media available offline - even delisted games that you once owned back in the 360 era, thanks to backwards compatibility. And that means you can also play them through the cloud system, taking your older titles and dropping them onto the Ally handheld for offline play.

But while that has enjoyed five days out in the open, Xbox has just nerfed it into the ground with a new announcement.

Revealed in a new blog post, Cloud Gaming is being limited by weekly curfews, limiting your game time behind a new paywall.

Xbox confirms new Cloud curfew, hiding play time behind new paywall

Starting in November, Xbox Game Pass Cloud Gaming will be limited by hours per week, with your allowance depending on which tier you own.

The limited times will be set at:

• Game Pass Ultimate: 15 hours
• Game Pass Premium: 10 hours
• Game Pass Essential: 5 hours

Players will be able to purchase additional Cloud Gaming hours (pricing yet to be confirmed), which comes as a painful hit to millions of players who play on the go or enjoy RPGs on the cloud with long play times like Starfield.

Xbox claim that the impact will only affect a tiny margin of users.

“We expect this upcoming change to impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers,” the blog says.

However, given Xbox has approximately 200 million active players a day, that's 8 million users who will now have an enforced playtime curfew.

Read More: Xbox Game Pass users get one last chance to play GOTY winning RPG before DLC drops

“We recognise that introducing limits is a meaningful change, particularly for players who regularly spend more time gaming through the cloud,” Xbox added.

“We’re introducing this model because the cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people use it and play for longer.

“Moving to monthly limits allows us to keep offering the service while continuing to invest in its reliability and performance.

“We understand that for some players the practical result is a higher cost.”

There will also now be a way for Xbox users who don't have Game Pass to be able to access Cloud Gaming.

The additional purchases for the allowance also extend to those who previously had no access, meaning that the non-Game Pass players can buy Cloud access, which could actually be a cheaper alternative for some players who want to play their physical games on the go for a few hours a week.