00:00Microsoft begins testing free ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming for insiders.
00:05Microsoft is taking another step toward expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming by launching a limited test of a free ad-supported
00:13streaming option for Xbox insiders.
00:15The new feature allows eligible players to stream select games they already own without requiring a Game Pass subscription,
00:23though the experience comes with advertisements and a one-hour session limit.
00:26The preview is currently available only to select members of the Xbox Insider Program
00:31as being positioned as an experiment to explore more affordable ways for players to access cloud gaming.
00:38Microsoft has not announced when or if the feature will become available to the public.
00:43How the free tier works
00:45Unlike the current paid version of Xbox Cloud Gaming,
00:48the new test allows users to stream supported games from their personal digital library at no additional cost.
00:54Timeout, timeout, timeout.
00:58If you, if it's from your own personal library, you know, it's not Game Pass games,
01:04why would you just not,
01:07why would you just not download the game and play it?
01:10Why would you play it on the cloud?
01:13I don't understand, I just don't understand that.
01:19Before each gaming session begins, players are shown advertisements.
01:22Microsoft says these ads only appear before gameplay starts and will not interrupt players once they are in-game.
01:28Each streaming session is capped at one hour before users must begin a new session.
01:33The company says it intends to maintain a higher standard for advertisements shown through the service
01:40and wants them to feel appropriate for the Xbox platform.
01:44Lowering the cost of entry
01:46Microsoft says the goal of the test is to reduce barriers for players who may not own the latest Xbox
01:51hardware
01:52or are unwilling to pay for a Game Pass subscription.
01:56But they said that you can only play games from your own library.
01:59So what?
01:59Is it games that you got from Games with Gold?
02:03That are, that, um,
02:07Xbox One?
02:08Is it, you know, like, uh,
02:10if you, if you, if you had, like,
02:14at Games with Gold, uh, back when that was current
02:16and you could download games like the Dead Rising remake,
02:20uh, Dark Siders 3, Resident Evil remake,
02:25you could only, um,
02:28you could only play those games as long as you still had a Game Pass subscription of some kind.
02:34Core, uh, Premium, Ultimate, whatever it was.
02:37Are those the games they're talking about?
02:39Well, like I said,
02:41otherwise, why not just download the game and play it?
02:43And you don't need the cloud.
02:47I mean, I could see the cloud if you were playing Game Pass games that you didn't have,
02:52but I don't understand what this,
02:55what this free tier to play your own games in your own library is offering.
03:03Uh,
03:05because games are streamed from servers,
03:06players can access titles on compatible devices
03:09without installing them locally.
03:11The company also believes the feature could benefit Xbox One owners
03:14by allowing them to play newer series titles
03:16through cloud streaming instead of upgrading their console immediately.
03:20Actually, they can.
03:21That's, like, that one, that, um,
03:26that was, I thought, the whole reason for cloud gaming.
03:29Um,
03:32a familiar strategy.
03:33The approach mirrors business models
03:35already seen excess other entertainment services,
03:38where users can choose between a paid,
03:40ad-free experience,
03:41or a free option supported by advertising.
03:44Cloud gaming competitors have also experimented with session limits
03:48and free access,
03:49making Microsoft's latest test another sign that companies are searching for ways
03:53to attract new players without requiring expensive hardware purchases.
03:58Paid subscribers keep their benefits.
04:01The ad-supported tier is separate from Microsoft's paid cloud gaming offerings.
04:05Players who subscribe to eligible Game Pass tiers that include cloud gaming
04:10will continue receiving uninterrupted streaming without advertisements
04:14and the restrictions or the restrictions being tested in the free version.
04:18The experimental tier is intended as an additional option
04:22rather than a replacement for existing subscriptions.
04:26A test that could shape Xbox's future.
04:29Microsoft has emphasized that the feature remains an early test
04:32and will evolve based on player feedback.
04:35The company has not confirmed whether the one-hour session limit
04:38or advertising model would remain unchanged
04:41if the service receives a wider release.
04:43The experiment arrives during a period of significant change for Xbox
04:47with recent restructuring efforts,
04:49Game Pass adjustments,
04:51and a growing focus on cloud gaming
04:53as a way to reach players across a wider range of devices.
04:57If the test proves successful,
04:59Microsoft's free streaming option
05:00could become another entry point into the Xbox ecosystem
05:04for players who aren't ready to invest in new hardware,
05:07like me,
05:08or a monthly subscription,
05:09also me.
05:14Yes, if it lets you play games that you don't already own,
05:18then I see the reason behind this.
05:27What I would suggest, though,
05:29is if, say this becomes public,
05:32say this gets rolled out to everyone,
05:35you know,
05:36as long as you have an Xbox One
05:38or Xbox Series,
05:40if they say,
05:41what I would suggest is
05:43maybe not the,
05:46maybe not the one-hour time limit,
05:51maybe,
05:52you know,
05:53I would say let people
05:56do cloud gaming for as many hours as they want,
05:59but have the advertisements go once every hour.
06:04That,
06:07as long as it's not going to kill someone in the game,
06:10because you don't want someone on their last life,
06:12the advertisement to play,
06:14and then by the time the advertisement's over,
06:17or you lost your last life.
06:21So,
06:22you know,
06:22whether it pauses the game
06:24when the advertisement runs,
06:25or people go home,
06:28and the advertisements go play in 15 seconds,
06:30top of the hour,
06:31I'll pause and
06:33wait for that
06:35advertisement to play.
06:36But also,
06:37another thing,
06:38if they do roll this out,
06:39they cannot go the way of YouTube.
06:43YouTube has advertisements
06:45that are just
06:46almost as long as
06:48traditional commercial breaks on television.
06:51That,
06:52they can't do.
06:53So,
06:54if they're going to do this,
06:55have,
06:57you know,
06:58if you want to have it every hour,
06:59instead of having people start a new session once every hour,
07:02maybe do that.
07:05But don't,
07:06but when advertisements run,
07:08keep them short.
07:0915,
07:1030 seconds,
07:11not five minutes,
07:13not three minutes.
07:15Or if you've seen the advertisements,
07:17it says 90 plus remaining.
07:20And that number's not going down,
07:22but the advertisement's still going on.
07:24So we don't need,
07:25so we don't need advertisements that long
07:28on cloud gaming.
07:29Keep them short.
07:30And,
07:31like I said,
07:32I would have people
07:33be able to,
07:39to,
07:42I would have people
07:44be able to play,
07:46you know,
07:47Game Pass games
07:48or the games they got through games with gold
07:49that were Xbox One.
07:52And,
07:55yeah,
07:55just have,
07:56just have advertisements play once every hour
07:58instead of having people have to start a new session.
08:02And if there's a way,
08:03also let players know,
08:05oh,
08:07next advertisements in 15 seconds.
08:12That would be,
08:13so,
08:13you know,
08:13like I said,
08:14you could pause your game.
08:17Yeah,
08:17so,
08:18I mean,
08:18this sounds awesome.
08:19This sounds great.
08:21This sounds like something Phil Spencer could have done
08:23if he really cared
08:25or at least
08:27experimented with.
08:29But,
08:31but,
08:33yeah,
08:36so,
08:37I mean,
08:37I just,
08:38I just hope
08:39my suggestions are taken.
08:41Like,
08:41I,
08:41like I said,
08:43though,
08:44because,
08:45I mean,
08:45if you're going to play cloud gaming,
08:47what,
08:48what,
08:49are you going to stick to independent games?
08:51Because,
08:52I mean,
08:52you're not going to play a new Assassin's Creed game
08:54that you haven't played.
08:55Those take hours to play.
08:58So,
08:59that's not going to happen.
09:01RPGs,
09:02you're not going to play
09:02because those,
09:03you know,
09:04like I said,
09:05unless you can,
09:06and I don't know if you start a new streaming
09:09with cloud game,
09:10cloud gaming.
09:12I don't know if that's going to be,
09:16like,
09:17if you'll lose your progress.
09:18Like,
09:18say you're playing,
09:20what's the latest,
09:21Assassin's Creed game,
09:22Assassin's Creed Odyssey,
09:24say.
09:25Say,
09:26you know,
09:27you do the full hour cloud gaming,
09:30that hour runs out,
09:32and your session's over,
09:34and you got to start all over.
09:35Do you lose the success
09:37that wasn't auto-saved?
09:39Did,
09:40was there some way to say,
09:42hey,
09:42your stream is,
09:43your time limit's running out,
09:44so save your game now,
09:46if you haven't already.
09:49Maybe that's some,
09:50you know,
09:50so these are things
09:51that I would ask Xbox
09:53to think about.
09:56And,
09:57yeah,
09:58but on a free cloud streaming,
10:02and also,
10:02if it's,
10:03if it's to the,
10:04like,
10:04like I said,
10:04the Game Pass library,
10:06because if it's just games
10:07your own,
10:08other than the ones
10:09that you can't play
10:10if you don't have a call,
10:11a Game Pass subscription,
10:14there's really no reason
10:15not to just download the game
10:17and play it as long as you want
10:19instead of one hour sessions.
10:21teams.
10:23But,
10:25that's what I want to do,
10:25that's what I want to do.
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