Xbox Cloud Gaming without Game Pass: pay-as-you-go packs start at $3.99 for 10 hours

Cloud gaming, by the hour. Microsoft has started selling Cloud Playtime to Xbox Insiders who don’t have Game Pass, letting them buy blocks of streaming hours for games they already own. It’s a preview ahead of a broader rollout in November, according to Xbox Wire.

The introductory prices:

• 10 hours: $3.99
• 25 hours: $7.99
• 50 hours: $11.99

Microsoft says the packs are ad-free, with shorter wait times and higher-quality streams, and purchased hours stay on your account until you use them. You still need to own a cloud-playable game (or pick an eligible free-to-play one) and a supported device, as The Verge notes. Insiders can also keep testing free, ad-supported streaming, which is capped at one-hour sessions.

The packs matter for subscribers too. Polygon reports Game Pass cloud time is moving to monthly caps (15 hours on Ultimate, 10 on Premium, 5 on Essential), with these packs as the top-up once you run out. Ars Technica worked it out to about 24 to 40 cents an hour, on top of buying the game.

PPR take: Hours that never expire are a fair deal for occasional streamers. Paying again to stream a game you already bought will be a tough sell for everyone else.