In 2020, Microsoft announced that Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions would include unlimited access to its new Xbox Cloud Gaming service. Now, that streaming buffet is ending, as Microsoft announced strict new limits on streaming time. Starting in November, Game Pass subscriptions will include monthly limits: Game Pass Ultimate ($23/month): 15 hours, Game Pass Premium ($15/month): 10 hours, Game Pass Essential ($10/month): 5 hours. Subscribers who use up their allotment can buy additional time, though pricing is unannounced. Downloadable games remain unaffected. Non-subscribers can purchase timed access to streaming versions of eligible games they own. In June, Microsoft began testing a free "stream with ads" option.

Sony offers streamable versions of select PlayStation games without time limits to its top-tier, $20 per month PlayStation Plus Premium plan. Nvidia's GeForce Now limits individual play sessions, from one-hour on free ad-supported tier to eight-hour on the $20 per month Ultimate tier, but users can start as many sessions as they want daily and purchase single-day passes.

Microsoft acknowledges the new limits will result in a "higher cost" for some customers but says the change will only impact "4% of Game Pass subscribers." That suggests about 1.2 million of the estimated 30 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers currently use streaming enough to require additional payments.