Xbox Cloud Gaming's Next-Gen Upgrade Has a Massive Price Tag

After years of feeling like it was stuck in 'beta', Microsoft has finally taken Xbox Cloud Gaming (or xCloud, as many of us call it) official. The service just rolled out its most significant upgrade ever, delivering a true next-gen streaming experience that many are calling a "night and day" difference. 

But this amazing new feature landed at the exact same time as a massive price hike, sparking a huge debate among gamers: Is the new quality really worth the cost?

The $30-Dollar-a-Month Question

Towards the end of the summer, Microsoft dropped a nuclear bomb on its Xbox Game Pass faithful, revealing a steep 50% price increase. As you can imagine, the internet reacted poorly. This new upgrade, with its crisp 1440p resolution and smooth 60 frames per second (fps) stream, is now locked exclusively behind the top-tier Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plan. That plan, as of October, now costs a staggering $29.99 a month. 

This price hike comes at a time when Xbox hasn't been doing so well. Recent financials show that hardware sales have crumbled and growth has been relatively anemic. As a response, Microsoft is investing heavily in cloud gaming, a way to get people to play without needing to buy an expensive console or PC.

But this move has sparked a firestorm, with many pointing out that the $30 price tag is more expensive than NVIDIA's comparable 1440p GeForce Now plan. The news has reportedly also led to some subscribers cancelling their plans in frustration.

For those who would stick with the Ultimate plan, the new experience is a massive leap in quality. Sources who have tested the new update call the video encoding "immaculate". In demanding 3D games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Fallout 4, and Cyberpunk 2077, spinning the camera no longer turns the world into a pixelated, blurry mess. 

The image after the update is now as crisp as playing natively, the frame rate is locked at 60 fps, and the latency is described as "almost imperceptible". Reports even show it running incredibly well over an unstable 5G data connection, which is a huge technical achievement.

However, this upgrade is rolling out on a per-game basis, so not every title is enhanced just yet. Sources note that while The Witcher 3 looks amazing, a game like Dying Light: The Beast still falls back on the old system, running the Xbox Series S version at 30 fps with a weaker bitrate. Currently, there is also a lack of clear labelling to showcase which games support the new "next-gen" cloud access.

What About the Other Tiers?

Microsoft has also restructured its other plans. The good news is that cloud gaming has been extended to all tiers, broadening accessibility. The new mid-level "Premium" tier sits at $14.99 a month and includes cloud gaming, but it's capped at the old 1080p quality.

It also loses the "day one" magic that made Game Pass famous, forcing subscribers to wait up to a year for new Xbox games. The cheapest "Essential" tier, at $9.99, also gets 1080p cloud streaming.

Interestingly, Microsoft isn't stopping here. Sources say the company is also working on a free, ad-supported tier of Xbox Cloud Gaming, similar to NVIDIA's service in order to attract more casual players. This would likely feature short ads and session limits.

Furthermore, future next-gen Xbox controllers are rumoured to include Wi-Fi Direct, allowing them to bypass your device and connect straight to the cloud servers, which would shave off even more latency.

The 1440p upgrade is a technical marvel that finally delivers on the promise of cloud gaming. But by tying this premium feature exclusively to a $30-a-month subscription, Microsoft is making a bold bet.

The upgrade is fantastic, but it's now reserved for those with the deepest pockets, leaving many long-time fans wondering if they're being left behind.