Xbox Adds Time Limits to Game Pass Streaming

Microsoft has announced that more than one million active Game Pass subscribers will face increased fees for heavy streaming use. The change follows a review of the service’s bandwidth consumption, with Microsoft citing rising costs for cloud infrastructure and the need to maintain performance for all users. Subscribers who exceed the current data thresholds will be charged an additional fee on top of their standard subscription rate.

The new policy applies to both Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass plans, and will be implemented in the coming weeks. Microsoft has stated that the additional charges will be transparent and calculated based on actual data usage, rather than a flat rate. The company also indicated that it will continue to invest in network optimization to minimize the impact on casual gamers. The move has drawn mixed reactions from the community, with some users expressing concern over the cost of high‑definition streaming while others welcome the effort to sustain service quality.