Microsoft confirms free ad-supported tier for Gamepass (1 Viewer)

[Matthew]

Free Game Streaming: Xbox Confirms Ad-Supported Cloud Gaming Experiment

Following months' worth of rumors, Microsoft confirms that a free, ad-supported tier of Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently in the work.

gamerant.com

A free tier of Xbox Cloud Gaming is in the works, Microsoft has confirmed. Currently in testing, the ad-supported Xbox service would be the company's first game streaming offering fully independent of Game Pass.

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A company official revealed as much in a statement to The New York Times, saying that the free platform is being tested internally. The disclosure corroborates a recent report from The Verge that claimed an ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming tier was made available to some Microsoft employees as of early October 2025.

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Yeah we knew this was coming but glad it's confirmed. I'm still not using Game pass due to the price hike... BUT I'm glad a free option will be available so that lower economic households can have easier video game access.

 

[Smokey]

Eh, I still think it's a bad move on Microsoft's part, but then again, i'm like 75% sure they're purposely trying to kill off the Xbox brand.