Microsoft’s free Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming soon with ads

January 20, 2026 Tom Warren

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Microsoft has been testing its ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming service over the past few months, as I exclusively revealed in October. Now, the software giant is getting close to testing the free streaming option with Xbox Insiders.

Over the weekend, Microsoft updated its Xbox app with loading screens for Xbox Cloud Gaming that mention "1 hour of ad-supported playtime per session." That lines up with Microsoft's internal testing, which has been limited to one-hour sessions, with up to five hours free per month.

Sources told me in October that internal testing includes around two minutes of preroll ads before a game is available to stream fo …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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