Rumor: Xbox Cloud Gaming to Offer a Free Ad-Tier Plan Soon
Microsoft is reportedly gearing up to make a significant gamble on cloud gaming, as the latest rumor suggests that a free, ad-supported tier is coming for consoles, PCs, and mobile players. Select titles will run under this free plan, with public testing planned to roll out soon.
However, don’t get too excited, as despite having ads, it appears the service will severely limit playtime.
Xbox Cloud Gaming to Start Offering a Free Ad-Tier Plan
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, Microsoft may soon start rolling out a “free” ad-based tier plan for its Xbox Cloud Gaming service. That’s according to The Verge, which sources tell them that the company is currently testing internally with plans to go public soon. Details on the ad-free tier are somewhat limited, but it’ll apparently include a 2-minute preroll ad that plays before streaming a game. Titles included under this tier will include some eligible Free Play Days, Xbox Retro Classic Games, and some purchased games. The company is currently testing one-hour play limits per session, with a monthly cap of five free hours.
That is, of course, all pending, and could very well change by the time the public testing rolls out.
This report comes right after the Xbox announcements of price hikes for Xbox Game Pass and its Xbox Series Consoles, which Microsoft defended due to its increased value and more day-one releases. Offering a free Xbox Cloud Gaming tier (albeit with ads) may also be a factor as to why we’re seeing price hikes on both services and consoles, though it is debatable, as it doesn’t offer more value to the subscribers themselves.
If anything, this move is likely to compete with Nvidia GeForce Now’s free-tier plan, which is also ad-based and has session caps (but no monthly caps)
GeForce Now Free Tier Details
- Access 2000+ games
- Ready-to-Play games
- 1-hour gaming sessions*
- Up to 1080p resolution
- Up to 60 FPS
- No priority access to queue *Typically >2 minute wait*
Public testing of this free ad-tier plan is expected to arrive soon, with a full launch arriving in the following months.
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