Beginning today, the Xbox Live Arcade game size limit has increased from 50MB to 150MB. Microsoft says that the bump in headroom will give developers greater flexibility in game design and expands the opportunity to add advanced game features while still keeping games compact.

“The new size limit offers developers increased flexibility and continued opportunities for innovative game development, while also ensuring that the millions of gamers on Xbox LIVE can continue to easily access, download and play all Xbox LIVE Arcade games on Xbox 360,” said Chris Early, product unit manager for Xbox LIVE Arcade and Microsoft Casual Games at Microsoft. “If you take a look at current games like ‘Roboblitz’ and ‘Small Arms,’ it’s clear that our developers deliver amazing game experiences within a compact size limit. Our focus is on continuing to provide developers with an environment that allows for the creation of cost-efficient games and that nurtures an artistic and creative approach to game development.”

Microsoft’s previous 50MB limit on XBLA games was set to the reasoning that gamers could download at least a single game to take with them on a 64MB Memory Unit. With the announcement of a 512MB Memory Unit, the some of the reasoning behind the 50MB game size limit has been erased.

Prior to Microsoft’s revised specification, several developers have expressed issues with the space limitation. The developers of the XBLA release of “Worms” had to drop parts the game’s soundtrack and weapons in order to fit under the 50MB limit. Before today, the only game to have broken Microsoft’s rule, with special permission, is Konami’s classic “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night,” which originally appeared on the original PlayStation on a CD-ROM.

While the new specification represents a bump of threefold for XBLA game developers, the limit set by Sony for its PlayStation Network downloads remains the roomiest at 500MB.