Xbox 向 Insiders 推出无需 Game Pass 的云游戏按时计费包

Xbox Insiders can now buy cloud playtime without Game Pass, from $3.99 for 10 hours, ahead of a wider rollout in November.

Xbox has started selling cloud gaming by the hour without a Game Pass subscription, testing pay-as-you-go playtime packs with Xbox Insiders from 21 October 2026.

The packs went live in the Xbox Insider programme in an announcement on Xbox Wire, which named three sizes: 10 hours for $3.99, 25 hours for $7.99 and 50 hours for $11.99. Xbox calls these introductory launch prices, so they may change. The packs are ad-free, with shorter wait times and high-quality streaming, and bought hours stay available until they are used.

The paywall closes

The timing is pointed. Game Pass subscribers currently stream games over the cloud without any monthly limit, and Xbox has said that ends in November: Game Pass Ultimate gets a 15-hour cap, Premium 10 hours and the cheapest tier 5 hours. Microsoft has said the caps will affect about 4% of Game Pass subscribers, though it has not explained how it arrived at that figure.

So the same month Xbox takes unlimited streaming away from subscribers, it starts selling the hours back a la carte. Bought playtime does not include the Game Pass library either: players must own a cloud-playable game or use a supported free-to-play title on a supported device, and they can already stream free with ads in Insider testing, in one-hour sessions limited to games they own. Readers weighing a subscription against the new option can compare it with Game Pass by asking whether Project Spartacus will beat Game Pass, or see how cloud gaming fits into the next generation.

Who can try it now

Access is limited to Xbox Insiders for the moment, and Xbox says availability, purchasing options and eligible games vary by market, device, account eligibility and preview ring, so not every Insider sees the packs straight away. Xbox has not announced a UK price in pounds, so the dollar figures stand, and the exact November date for the wider rollout has not been given.