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Artwork for Destin Legarie Podcast | Save State Plus
Destin Legarie Podcast | Save State Plus · Monday · 12 min

Xbox Cloud Gaming First Impressions | Long Wait Times

Xbox is testing a new ad-supported way to play games through Xbox Cloud Gaming without paying for a Game Pass subscription. I tried the experience with Gears of War to see how the ads work, how well the game performs through the cloud, and whether this could become a legitimate alternative to buying an Xbox console.The current Xbox Insider test allows players to stream select games they already own in one-hour sessions. Ads appear before the session rather than interrupting gameplay, but the actual experience still depends heavily on streaming quality, latency, image clarity, and your internet connection.In this video, I break down what worked, what didn’t, and whether Xbox’s free ad-supported streaming model feels like the future of gaming or another compromise.

0:00-12:32

transcript

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show notes

Xbox is testing a new ad-supported way to play games through Xbox Cloud Gaming without paying for a Game Pass subscription. I tried the experience with Gears of War to see how the ads work, how well the game performs through the cloud, and whether this could become a legitimate alternative to buying an Xbox console.The current Xbox Insider test allows players to stream select games they already own in one-hour sessions. Ads appear before the session rather than interrupting gameplay, but the actual experience still depends heavily on streaming quality, latency, image clarity, and your internet connection.In this video, I break down what worked, what didn’t, and whether Xbox’s free ad-supported streaming model feels like the future of gaming or another compromise.