Insider test: Xbox online gaming for free if you watch advertising

Microsoft is now offering members of the Xbox Insider Program the opportunity to use certain games they own online without taking out a Game Pass subscription. The prerequisite is that users view advertising beforehand.

Play online for free if you watch advertisements first

In many cases, online gaming now requires taking out a subscription. As part of the Xbox Insider program, Microsoft has recently been testing an ad-supported approach that allows game fans to use such titles in online gaming sessions without having to take out a subscription. Games in a user’s library can be used for one hour, including their cloud gaming features, after watching “some advertising,” the US software giant said in a statement Xbox Team Blog with. Microsoft is adapting the same approach that Nvidia has been using for a long time with GeForce Now.

Trial period of limited duration

Ad-financed cloud gaming is still in the test phase and will initially only be possible for a limited period of time. The advertising must be viewed before the start of the session, which is limited to one hour, and should no longer appear afterwards. The actual online use of the games is therefore not interrupted by advertising, it is said. Microsoft also promises that when choosing the advertising to be displayed, it will ensure that a certain quality standard is adhered to. In addition, the company says it only wants to display advertising that meets the expectations of users on the respective platform.

There were already reports last year about the ad-financed version of access to online gaming functions that is now available to insider testers, although the whole thing was initially only tested internally. For Microsoft, the whole thing is officially another way to “give more people cheap ways to play,” although they are currently on the verge of significantly increasing the prices for Xbox consoles again.