Xbox Charges 40 Cents Per Hour

Xbox is now charging up to forty cents an hour to stream games you already own. Insiders can buy cloud playtime packs starting at ten hours for four dollars. The 25‑hour option costs eight dollars, while 50 hours come for twelve dollars. That works out to 40, 32, or 24 cents per hour, depending on the bundle. Microsoft says you must already own a cloud‑playable version of the game. The playtime stays usable until you finish it, so it never expires prematurely. This model harks back to the old arcade days of paying a quarter per minute. It adds a cost on top of the game’s purchase price. Xbox’s move could reshape cloud gaming economics.