Xbox Cloud Gaming could have a free, ad-supported version launching as a beta test soon, according to reports on social media. While Xbox Cloud Gaming will still be offered as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the free, ad-supported tier will reportedly be limited to just five hours per month, with a brief ad window at the start of a play session.
In short, Xbox Cloud Gaming is one of the perks of an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. This feature allows users to stream eligible games to their devices, with the games running on dedicated servers. Xbox Cloud Gaming can also be used to stream games tied to a user's Microsoft account on compatible devices. However, a cable or fiber internet connection is recommended for using the Xbox Cloud Gaming service. As of this writing, Xbox Cloud Game is out of beta and is now publicly available.
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Xbox Cloud Gaming Could Get A Free, Ad-Supported Tier
As more titles are added to Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft is looking to expand the service to more customers, albeit in a limited capacity. As reported by The Verge, a beta version of Xbox Cloud Gaming would be offered for free and be supported by advertisements. This would allow users to play select games without an active Xbox Game Pass subscription, along with games tied to a user's Microsoft account and Free Play Day games. Approximately two minutes of preroll ads would be played before a game stream begins, and each session would be capped at one hour. The monthly cap on Xbox Cloud Gaming's ad-supported tier would also be five hours, though the limits are subject to change before the free tier exits its beta window.
Xbox Cloud Gaming's free service tier would be available on Windows PCs, Xbox consoles, supported mobile devices, and various web browsers. However, the beta launch of Xbox Cloud Gaming's free tier comes at a controversial time for Microsoft. On October 1, Xbox Game Pass announced a steep subscription price increase to all its tiers, along with renaming the previous Core and Standard tiers to Essential and Premium, respectively. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which includes access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, has had its monthly subscription rate go from $19.99 to $29.99.
The Xbox Game Pass price changes resulted in many users canceling their subscriptions out of protest. It remains to be seen how effective the free Xbox Cloud Gaming tier will be at retaining users.
