According to a brief mention in the New York Times, Microsoft has officially confirmed that it is currently testing a free Xbox Cloud service supported by advertisements, although no further specific details have been shared.
The main focus of the article was actually different—it discussed the recent announcement of Halo: Campaign Evolved and its surprising arrival on PS5—but it briefly mentioned that Microsoft is indeed testing this new free service.
Rumors about such a project have been circulating for some time. Many reports have suggested the possibility of a free tier of Xbox Cloud Gaming that would include advertising support, and this seems to have been confirmed by Microsoft itself.
A Service Separate From Game Pass
Apparently, this ad-supported version of Xbox Cloud Gaming would be separate from the Game Pass service. That means it would not be an additional subscription tier but rather an independent service on its own.
According to the New York Times, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the company is internally testing a free, ad-supported service that allows users to access Xbox Cloud Gaming in this format.
It is still unclear how the advertisements will be integrated or which devices will have access to the service. It could be available on PC, consoles, mobile devices, smart TVs—or perhaps across all of them. More details are expected in the near future.
It is also not certain whether the service will ever be released to the public. For now, it appears to be in a testing phase within Microsoft, as the company gathers feedback and evaluates possible developments.
