100s of Xbox games could soon be yours without needing Game Pass

After an initial restructure of its Xbox Game Pass tiers earlier this month, and raising prices in the process, it seems Microsoft is set to alter its subscription service further.

It is claimed that it could launch two new paid plans to complement the newly formatted tiers, including one that's ad-supported to offer a cheaper option. Perhaps the most-requested new tier, though, is one that offers access to Xbox Cloud Gaming without having to pay for full Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

You currently have to shell out £14.99 per month in the UK, $19.99 in the US for the full Game Pass experience, just to play games over the cloud. That's irrespective of whether you own an Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One or even a gaming PC.

That made sense when Xbox Cloud Gaming was restricted to Xbox consoles and computers, and also seen as a secondary service to allow existing players to access their games on mobile too. However, now that it's also available on Samsung Smart TVs and Amazon Fire TV Sticks, there will be a wider audience who want access to 100s of Xbox games, but don't actually want an Xbox.

It will undoubtedly also appear on other streaming devices in the coming months. It's time therefore to allow customers to subscribe to the cloud gaming platform separately.

New Xbox Game Pass tiers

A Windows Central (via VGC) report suggests exactly that. Its sources claim that the gaming giant will introduce a tier for standalone Xbox Cloud Gaming access, an ad-supported plan of some description, plus the reintroduction of its Xbox Game Pass Friends and Family Plan, that is trialled in select locations a couple of years ago.

Gamers in Ireland, Colombia and several other countries could pay a single monthly fee for Game Pass access across multiple Xbox consoles. You currently have to pay for membership for each Xbox account used in a household.

That's something parents have been requesting elsewhere for years, and while it might not end up as cheap as the test subscription – thought to have been $24.99 per month – it could still save a family a decent penny.

There's no word on when these changes could come into effect, but they do sound practical enough to work.

We'll let you know when/if we find out more.