Microsoft

11 days agoNews Editor

Microsoft tests hourly Xbox cloud gaming passes, charging $0.24 to $0.40 an hour for owned games

Microsoft has opened its new Cloud Playtime option to Xbox Insider testers who do not subscribe to Game Pass, letting them buy cloud gaming time in blocks rather than through a monthly subscription. The launch pricing is split into three tiers: 10 hours for $3.99, 25 hours for $7.99, and 50 hours for $11.99, which Ars Technica calculated at roughly $0.24 to $0.40 per hour. The catch is central to the backlash: players must already own a cloud-enabled game before they can stream it through the paid time package, meaning the cloud session itself becomes a second charge on top of the game purchase. Microsoft says the purchased hours do not expire before use and come with ad-free streaming, shorter queues, and better image quality. The move follows an earlier policy change under which Game Pass cloud gaming will shift from unlimited access to monthly caps starting in November. Microsoft said only 4% of subscribers are expected to be affected, though Ars Technica estimated that could still amount to about 1.2 million heavy users based on outside estimates of a 30 million Game Pass subscriber base.

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Microsoft

2 months agoNews Editor

Microsoft patent outlines game ad system that pauses at natural breaks and rewards viewing time

Microsoft has disclosed a newly published patent application describing a system that could pause a game at what it calls a “natural break point” and insert an advertisement, then grant the player additional play credit after the ad is viewed. The filing, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in September 2026, is titled “Contextually Aware Management of Interactive Software Application Access.” It was submitted on April 23, 2026, under publication number US 2026/0260258 A1, with Microsoft listed as the applicant. According to the document, players would first receive an ad-free gameplay allowance. That allowance could be based on a fixed duration, such as 30 minutes, or tied to in-game progress, such as clearing a stage or defeating a boss. Once the allowance is exhausted, the system would wait for a suitable pause in gameplay before showing an ad. The patent lists examples including after a boss fight, after a mission is completed, at the end of a cutscene, during level loading, or when a player opens a menu. Microsoft has not said the system is being used in any live game or service. The patent also does not name a specific Xbox product, though the company had already opened testing on July 23 for an ad-supported Xbox cloud gaming option that lets players stream eligible purchased games for up to one hour after watching an ad.

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Microsoft

4 months agoNews Editor 01

Microsoft Plans Third Major Layoff Round in a Year, With Sales and Xbox Hit Hard

Microsoft is reportedly preparing a third major layoff round in a little over a year, affecting fewer than 5,500 employees. Sales, consulting, and Xbox are expected to take the biggest hit as the company keeps spending heavily on AI infrastructure.

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Sony

4 months agoNews Editor 01

Sony Sets 2028 End for New PlayStation Game Discs as Xbox Drive Rumors Stir Backlash

Sony says it will stop producing physical discs for newly released PlayStation games from January 2028, while reports of a disc-less next-gen Xbox remain unconfirmed.

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Microsoft

4 months agoNews Editor 01

Microsoft Cuts 4,800 Jobs as Xbox Sheds 1,600 Roles and Moves to Sell Four Studios

Microsoft has begun a new round of layoffs affecting about 4,800 employees, or 2.1% of its workforce. Xbox is at the center of the reset, cutting 1,600 roles in one day and moving to sell four studios. The company says the eliminated jobs are not being replaced by AI.

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Microsoft

4 months agoNews Editor

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass bet runs into weak growth, 3% margins and fresh cuts

Microsoft’s push to turn Xbox into a subscription-led gaming business is running into a hard financial reality. After spending more than $80 billion to acquire ZeniMax Media and Activision Blizzard, the company folded major franchises including Call of Duty, Fallout, Doom, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush into its broader Xbox content strategy, aiming to make Game Pass a lower-cost gateway to premium titles. But according to ABMedia, citing analysis from The Wall Street Journal, that strategy has fallen short of expectations. By placing major releases into the subscription service, including flagship titles on day one, Microsoft weakened the traditional retail sales model that had previously generated large amounts of revenue from hit games. The report says Xbox’s overall profit margin fell to just 3%. User growth has also lagged. Microsoft had expected the service to reach 77 million subscribers this year, but the current figure is only close to half that target. A price increase for the top-tier plan, from $19.99 to $29.99 per month, triggered notable churn in a short period, prompting a reassessment of pricing. Xbox has also cut nearly 3,200 jobs and shut down five game studios. Microsoft has since appointed Asha Sharma as Xbox’s new CEO and is adjusting both distribution and pricing strategy, including a move away from putting hot titles into the subscription library on launch day.

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Bit.Fan