Xbox could give you free Game Pass access…by watching ads
Microsoft Gaming's CFO Tim Stuart has revealed that players may be able to earn free Game Pass access in future, but it'll come with the caveat of watching ads.
12th Dec 2023 11:45
Courtesy of Microsoft
Xbox could give you free Game Pass access…by watching ads
Microsoft Gaming's CFO Tim Stuart has revealed that players may be able to earn free Game Pass access in future, but it'll come with the caveat of watching ads.
12th Dec 2023 11:45
Courtesy of Microsoft
When it comes to gaming subscription services and the value they offer, Xbox Game Pass sits comfortably at the top of the pile.
While PS Plus has been building its catalogue, it's still trailing behind Game Pass, which regularly introduces big day-one titles for subscribers like Starfield.
However, as Ultimate still costs $16.99/£12.99 per month, it can add up over the year for some members of the community. Well, Microsoft appears to be developing a solution where Xbox Games Pass can be earned for free, but it still comes at a cost.
Microsoft may offer free Xbox Game Pass for watching ads
As reported by TweakTown and Windows Central, Microsoft may allow you to earn Game Pass for free in the future by watching ads. During the Wells Fargo TMT Summit, Microsoft Gaming's CFO Tim Stuart outlined the possibility of expanding Game Pass access by offering the service in exchange for viewing advertisements.
"For models like Africa, or India, Southeast Asia, maybe places that aren't console-first, you can say, hey, do you want to watch 30 seconds of an ad and then get two hours of game streaming?
"So we can go in with our own business models and say...there's millions and millions of gamers we would never have been able to address there, and now we can go in with our business models."
This will likely be exciting news for some and worrying for others, as for now, we don't know what form this strategy will take in the future.
Game Pass' ad-watching doesn't have a release date
At this point, it's completely unknown when this ad-watching feature could come into play, but we do know that code snippets have been found in the Xbox OS that describe access to "earned time" that comes in 15-minute blocks.
This at least confirms this idea is very much on the table, and there's always the possibility we see it in 2024. However, as Stuart specifically mentions regions like Africa, and India, Southeast Asia, this system may be only rolled out in certain areas of the world.
We'll have to wait and see, but it's clear Xbox is looking at all options to get Game Pass in the hands of every person it can.
About The Author
Alex Garton
Alex is a Senior Writer at GGRecon. With a BA (Hons) in English, he has previously written for Dexerto & Gfinity. Specialising in Call of Duty & Apex Legends, he loves (attempting) to improve his aim in competitive shooters and will always make time for a single-player RPG.
