Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently only available with a Game Pass subscription
LG smart TVs support Xbox Cloud Gaming via the Xbox app
Photo Credit: LG/ Microsoft
Xbox Cloud Gaming will reportedly get a free ad-supported tier soon, allowing Xbox players to access cloud playable games without a Game Pass subscription. Some users reported seeing a loading screen on the Xbox app that suggested a cloud gaming offering with “one hour of ad-supported playtime per session” was on its way. According to a Windows Central report, the ad-supported Cloud Gaming tier will launch in 2026.
Back in October 2025, Microsoft confirmed to New York Times that it was testing a free ad-supported cloud gaming service separate from Xbox Game Pass. Xbox cloud gaming is currently only available via a Game Pass subscription. But it seems the ad-supported free Xbox Cloud Gaming tier could be coming soon.
Windows Central reported that the offering, which will be session-based, will arrive “this year”. The ad-supported tier of Cloud Gaming will let players play Xbox games they own digitally without needing a Game Pass subscription.
Details about the ad-supported game streaming service are sparse, but according to The Verge, Microsoft is close to testing the program with Xbox Insiders. As per the publication's sources, the Xbox parent's internal testing of the free cloud gaming service has been limited to one-hour sessions, with up to five free hours per month.
The ad-supported service will reportedly allow users to stream select Xbox games they have purchased digitally, along with some eligible Free Play Days and Xbox Retro Classics titles with preroll ads that unlock a cloud play session.
Xbox has not yet announced a timeline for the launch of its ad-supported Cloud Gaming service. The company, however, has been expanding its game streaming service in recent times.
In October 2025, Xbox introduced three revamped and upgraded Game Pass plans — Ultimate, Premium, and Essential — and added unlimited cloud gaming support to each tier. Xbox Cloud Gaming was previously only available in beta to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
A month later, Microsoft launched Cloud Gaming in India, allowing Game Pass subscribers in the country to stream games on supported devices without needing to download the title first. Xbox Cloud Gaming can be accessed on the Xbox app on PC, Mac, iOS and Android mobile devices, tablets, Samsung and LG smart TVs, and Amazon Fire TV.
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