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We've heard for a while now that Xbox has been interested in offering a new way to pay for Xbox Cloud Gaming without requiring access to Xbox Game Pass, and it's being trialled with Xbox Insiders from today.
They're calling this service "Cloud Playtime", and at least initially, it's being offered in three variants with three different price tiers. The smallest amount costs $3.99 for 10 hours, and the largest costs $11.99 for 50 hours.
Here are those three price tiers in full - although keep in mind they're still "introductory" for now:
- 10 hours for $3.99
- 25 hours for $7.99
- 50 hours for $11.99
For your money, you'll be getting the ability to play supported free-to-play games and games that you already own through Xbox Cloud Gaming, complete with "shorter wait times, high-quality streaming, and playtime that remains available until it’s used" compared to those who are playing on the free ad-based version of xCloud.
"Cloud playtime packs provide an ad-free cloud gaming experience, including shorter wait times, high-quality streaming, and playtime that remains available until it’s used. As we previously shared, XBOX Insiders can also try cloud gaming for free with ads, giving players another option for accessing cloud gaming without a Game Pass subscription."
We assume these are going to be the kind of add-ons that will be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers who have surpassed their newly-introduced cloud gaming limits as well, although it should be reiterated again that these are only "introductory" launch prices that may yet change for the full launch.
Speaking of the full launch, Xbox says that everyone will be getting the ability to pay for Xbox Cloud Gaming in November, but it's still limited to just certain Xbox Insiders for now. We'll let you know when it rolls out more broadly.