Microsoft is about to launch free Xbox Cloud Gaming with ads

Microsoft is getting ready to announce an ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the software maker has started testing ad-supported games streaming internally, allowing employees to play select titles free without a Game Pass subscription.

I understand that the free ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming will include the ability to stream some games you own, as well as eligible Free Play Days titles, which let Xbox players try games over a weekend. You’ll also be able to stream Xbox Retro Classics games.

Sources tell me the internal testing includes around two minutes of preroll ads before a game is available to stream for free through Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft is also currently testing a limit of one hour for sessions, with up to five hours free a month. These limits may well change when the service is officially launched.

The ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming version will be available on PC, Xbox consoles, handheld devices, and via the web. Microsoft is planning to test free streaming through a public beta test soon, before launching it fully in the coming months.

Microsoft’s free streaming test comes in the same week that the company expanded Xbox Cloud Gaming access to its Xbox Game Pass Premium and Essential plans for the first time, as part of a revamp to Game Pass and a 50 percent price hike for Ultimate subscribers.

Xbox Cloud Gaming also came out of beta this week. Game Pass Ultimate members can now stream select games in 1440p resolution, with up to 30Mbps bitrates. Ultimate subscribers also get up to 20Mbps bitrates for any other games streamed at 1080p. Premium and Essential subscribers are limited to 1080p resolution and a 12Mbps bitrate.

An ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming has been long in the works. Microsoft Gaming CFO Tim Stuart first dropped hints about a free version of Xbox Cloud Gaming nearly two years ago. Microsoft also made it clear recently that it wants to make Xbox Cloud Gaming more accessible.

“I think for us, it really opens up the opportunity to make it much more affordable, and make it more accessible to players. Whether that’s going into new regions, or new ways to actually access the [Xbox] cloud,” Jason Ronald, Microsoft’s VP of next generation, said on an Xbox podcast in August.