Xbox Cloud Gaming is getting a change, free games with ads arrive this year

Microsoft is changing the rules of cloud gaming and opening its doors to a wider audience. Leaked information suggests that a special version will launch by 2026.

A new service tier will separate the premium experience from the free core, where time spent watching advertisements becomes the form of payment.

Your own games in the cloud for the price of an ad, session limits, and the wait for the official reveal

According to the latest reports from Windows Central, we will see the launch of the long-awaited version of Xbox Cloud Gaming this year, which will be funded exclusively by advertising. This model breaks the current necessity of paying a monthly fee for access to cloud infrastructure.

Players who own digital copies of their favorite titles will be able to stream them to phones, tablets, or smart TVs completely free of charge, provided they accept interruptions from commercial messages.

Leaked screenshots that appeared on the internet in recent days reveal the specific outlines of how the service works. Users were shown a message about "one hour of ad-supported play per session," suggesting that the system will not be unlimited.

Although these may be test parameters, earlier reports spoke of a similar setup where players would have to watch another block of spots after the time limit expired, or their total monthly time would be capped. The final form will likely be fine-tuned just before the full launch.

An important aspect of this news is that it does not apply to the complete Game Pass subscription catalog, but primarily to games that users already digitally own. With this step, Xbox aims to motivate customers who do not have powerful hardware at home to purchase software.

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