Xbox Cloud Gaming goes free with ads, and cloud play moves to hours

Xbox Cloud Gaming now has a free, ad-supported option. The official Xbox account on X announced it on 11 November at 7 p.m. Italian time: you can "purchase ad-free cloud playtime, get monthly cloud playtime with @XBOXGamePass, or stream your games for free with ad-supported cloud gaming".

According to the official page on xbox.com, the free option lets you stream eligible games by watching ads, with a limit on session length. According to the description reported by Pure Xbox, ads must be watched before each session and, when a session ends, another one can be started by watching more ads. Xbox has not said how long a session lasts or which games are included; Pure Xbox, citing reports gathered online, puts it at 30 minutes. Xbox had announced the free option in July, and it has been in testing since then. Again according to Pure Xbox, since 11 November it has been available to "the vast majority" of Xbox users worldwide.

Game Pass hours

On the same day the hours-based model announced by Xbox in September came into effect. Game Pass subscribers get a monthly allowance of cloud gaming: 15 hours with Ultimate, 10 with Premium and 5 with Essential. The hours included with the subscription are used first, reset every month and do not roll over. Those who run out, or do not have Game Pass, can buy ad-free packs of 10, 25 or 50 hours, which stay on the account until used, or switch to the free ad-supported option. Streaming remains limited to owned games, supported free-to-play titles and the Game Pass catalogue of one's plan. Availability varies by country, device and plan.

The rollout has not been uniform. Pure Xbox reports that on its Xbox Series X the "Cloud Playtime" section still showed "unlimited" access with Game Pass Ultimate, and that other users have noticed the same. The change comes a week before 19 November, when Grand Theft Auto VI will also be available to stream on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Xbox has not said whether GTA VI will be among the games in the free tier.