Xbox appears to be laying the groundwork for ads in its cloud gaming service, according to a new report from Windows Central.
The outlet spotted reports from several users who were met with a pop-up while launching games on Xbox Cloud Gaming, warning of “1 hour of ad-supported play time per session.” That’s notable, because while Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently included with all tiers of Xbox Game Pass, none of those subscriptions offer an ad-supported option — at least not yet.
Microsoft confirmed to Windows Central that ads are indeed coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming for users who have purchased Xbox games digitally but do not subscribe to Game Pass, though stopped short of saying when it will happen. In other words, an ad-supported tier is on the way. The company also said the pop-ups seen by users were shown in error, but the broader plan appears very real.
This isn’t exactly a shock. Xbox has been openly exploring advertising as part of its cloud gaming strategy for some time. Console manufacturing costs continue to rise. PC components like DRAM and SSDs are getting more expensive thanks to the AI boom. Add in U.S. trade tariffs, and suddenly the traditional hardware-first model looks increasingly fragile.
Cloud gaming, meanwhile, is quietly gaining traction. A November 2025 report found that Xbox Cloud Gaming usage through Game Pass nearly doubled compared to 2024 as the service expanded into more countries. Services like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now are positioned as affordable alternatives to buying a $500 console or upgrading a PC every few years.
However, the major issue with cloud gaming is that idle compute is wasted money. Servers sitting unused still cost power, maintenance, and capital. As Windows Central notes, opening up Azure-backed cloud gaming to a free, ad-supported audience could help Microsoft keep utilization high and predictable.
It also provides a convenient justification for building even more data centers — something Microsoft is already eager to do.
