Late last year, we heard that Microsoft had started doing internal tests for an ad-supported tier of Xbox Cloud Gaming, and while this hasn't gone live for the public yet, a new report — along with some concrete evidence from other sources — suggests that the new tier is real and will launch in the coming months.
On that new report; Windows Central is stating that folks will soon be able to stream their owned games without an Xbox Game Pass subscription, and that this new ad-based version of Xbox Cloud Gaming will cover that. The site mentions that it doesn't know exactly when this will arrive, but reporter Jez Corden says "I'm told it's coming this year".
And, some extra evidence suggests that the new tier is likely on its way pretty soon as well. Fellow journalist Tom Warren of The Verge has shared an Xbox Cloud Gaming load screen that mentions "ad-supported playtime" down at the bottom. This message appears to have popped up a little early, with Microsoft yet to formally announce the tier just yet.
We'll keep our eye on this one because it's something we've anticipated for a while now — but yep, it looks like folks will soon be able to access Xbox Cloud Gaming in some fashion without needing to be subscribed to Microsoft's Game Pass service.