{"id":821494,"date":"2026-07-23T19:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/821494\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T19:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:55:08","slug":"xbox-tests-ad-supported-game-streaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/821494\/","title":{"rendered":"Xbox Tests Ad-Supported Game Streaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tXbox<\/a> is rolling out a test for ad-supported cloud gaming that will be available on a voluntary basis for members of its fan-feedback community, Xbox Insiders.<\/p>\n

\n\tBeginning Thursday, Xbox Insiders with an Xbox account will have the option to try out the free, ad-supported experience via a selection of games the players already own, including \u201cForza Horizon 6\u201d and \u201c007 First Light,\u201d or through free-to-play games like \u201cCall of Duty: Warzone,\u201d \u201cGenshin Impact,\u201d and \u201cWar Thunder.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Xbox has not confirmed this test will officially lead to it offering a future ad-supported tier of cloud gaming, the company states \u201cwe\u2019ll learn from this test and continue to improve it based on how players use it and what they tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMore than 1,800 games in the Xbox Store support\u00a0cloud game streaming, though it should be noted the Xbox Insiders ad test experience does not offer players access to all available games \u2014 just those titles the user already owns or that are free-to-play.<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring the test, players will see a two-minute block of multiple ads before joining the cloud streaming queue to play their selected game. Variety has confirmed the ads will be from globally recognizable brands and specific to the markets that Xbox Insiders are viewing them within.<\/p>\n

\n\tPlayers will then have a one-hour game play session that\u2019s uninterrupted by ad breaks but includes countdown warnings. If at the end of the session a player wants to continue, they can select to watch a new block of ads before resuming gameplay.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs Xbox cloud gaming is currently not available without a GamePass subscription, the ad test experience will allow Xbox Insiders who do not have GamePass to stream their already owned games. Through the ad-supported experience, if users don\u2019t have a console and don\u2019t have a GamePass subscription, they can play their library games or Xbox Store\u2019s free-to-play games on cloud streaming via handheld, PC or the Xbox app on TV.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor many players, the device they already own now allows them to stream games with Xbox,\u201d Xbox said in the Xbox Wire blog post announcing the test Thursday. \u201cCloud can also help Xbox One owners play newer games built for Xbox Series X|S without needing to purchase new hardware right away. That can be especially meaningful in places where consoles are harder to find or less affordable, giving more players another way to access great games on devices they already have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAdvertising has existed in gaming for decades, from in-game placements to free-to-play models,\u201d the blog post continues. \u201cBut it hasn\u2019t always been built with the player in mind. When done well, advertising can help lower the cost of access. It creates another way for players to get into games without an upfront streaming purchase and expands audiences through new ways to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAdditionally, Xbox laid out these five ways it plans to \u201capproach ad-supported services across Xbox\u201d moving forward:<\/p>\n

We start with the player. Ads should create value.<\/p>\n

We do not interrupt the flow of gameplay.<\/p>\n

We hold ads to the same quality bar as our content.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re clear about what\u2019s advertising.<\/p>\n

We make sure ads fit what players expect on each platform.<\/p>\n

\n\tExisting Xbox Insiders can start the ad-supported test experience now and players who aren\u2019t part of the program yet can join today by downloading the Xbox Insider Hub for Xbox Series X and S and Xbox One or Windows PC. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Xbox is rolling out a test for ad-supported cloud gaming that will be available on a voluntary basis…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,61,6734],"class_list":["post-821494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-technology","tag-xbox"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}