We've heard rumblings of a free version of Xbox Cloud Gaming for years at this point, but it seems like that's finally becoming a reality. According to The Verge, Microsoft is currently testing a limited version of Xbox Cloud Gaming, which will be offered for free without requiring a Game Pass subscription. Historically, Xbox Cloud Gaming has been limited to Game Pass Ultimate members — which recently saw a very controversial price hike — and was expanded to Essential and Plus tiers of Game Pass a few days ago.
The main caveat with free Xbox Cloud Gaming will be the presence of ads. Sources close to the matter tell The Verge that two-minute-long pre-roll ads will play before each gaming session, which will be limited to just an hour. A monthly cap of five hours will be imposed, meaning you cannot simply start new one-hour sessions each time your previous one expires. What's funny, though, is that ads seem to permeate Xbox Cloud Gaming in the Game Pass Ultimate tier as well, as one user on Twitter angrily pointed out.
