According to reports on October 4th， following a significant 50% price increase for Xbox Game Pass， Microsoft is internally testing a new free version of its Xbox Cloud Gaming service， with a public beta expected soon.
This new iteration aims to broaden access to cloud gaming， supporting PCs， consoles， and handheld devices. However， this free tier comes with a trade-off for players: they will be required to watch advertisements.
The free service is expected to allow players to stream a selection of free-to-play titles， games they already own， and a curated library of classic Xbox games.
The proposed advertising model involves a two-minute ad pre-roll before each gaming session. Furthermore， this free access will be capped at five hours per month， with individual play sessions limited to one hour each.
While this free tier offers a touchpoint for new users to experience cloud gaming， the stringent limitations—a mere five hours of gameplay per month and one-hour session caps—may prove insufficient for dedicated gamers seeking a substantial and uninterrupted cloud gaming experience. This restriction might unintentionally steer players towards a full Game Pass subscription， which offers a more robust and flexible gaming proposition without such constraints.
