Free Xbox Cloud Gaming With Ads Is Being Tested Now, Report Says

On: October 3, 2025

Microsoft is gearing up to announce an ad-based version of Xbox Cloud Gaming, according to a new report. The Verge’s sources said Microsoft is now testing an ad tier for the streaming service, with employees trying it out now before it may launch publicly for everyone.

The report said the free ad-based tier for Xbox Cloud Gaming will allow players to stream “some” of the games they already own, along with select titles from the “Free Play Days” promotion that allows people to play select titles on weekends at no cost. Xbox Retro Classics titles may be included, too.

In terms of the ads themselves, the report said the current iteration has people watching two minutes of preroll ads before jumping into a game. The report also mentioned that there could be streaming limitations, including a cutoff of one-hour sessions each and up to five hours for free each month. It’s possible things change before the ad-based program goes live, if it does at all.

The Xbox Cloud Gaming version with ads is said to be in the works for PC, Xbox, handheld devices, and internet browsers. Prior to this report, an industry analyst said Microsoft might look at offering people the ability to play games for free in exchange for watching ads.

An ad-based tier is no surprise, as Xbox boss Tim Stuart first hinted at it some time ago. In August this year, Xbox boss Jason Ronald teased an evolution of Xbox Cloud Gaming, saying on a podcast that Microsoft was looking for a way to make the service “more affordable” and “accessible,” and dropping the price to $0 is in line with that ambition.

GameSpot has contacted Microsoft in an attempt to get more details.

Earlier this week, Xbox Cloud Gaming left beta and added more improvements. Additionally, Microsoft announced that the highest-quality streaming, 1440p, will be locked behind the Game Pass Ultimate paywall, and the price just went up to $30/month.

Back in 2012, Square Enix launched an ad-based streaming game service called Coreonline before killing it off 15 months later due to a lack of uptake from players.

Previous Post: Ghost Of Yotei’s Star Is A Deadly Force Of Feminine Nature

Next Post: Bonehead to take “planned break” from Oasis reunion tour as he shares cancer diagnosis

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.

Borderlands 4 Update Adds Halloween Event And More

In: Gaming, News

Borderlands 4 has added one of its biggest updates since launch, and it includes a number of quality-of-life fixes and upgrades, as well as a limited-time Halloween-themed event, Horrors of Kairos. As part of that, players will get a chance to earn two new Legendary weapons: the Legendary Order Grenade and Legendary Tediore Assault Riffle.

Double, double, recoil and trouble 🎃💥
During Horrors of Kairos, defeat World Bosses for a chance to earn two new Legendary weapons:
💀 Legendary Order Grenade – Skully
💎 Legendary Tediore Assault Rifle – Murmur
Event ends Nov. 6. pic.twitter.com/q4jzYPo5h4

— Borderlands (@Borderlands) October 23, 2025

Horrors of Kairos is a free event that will run from October 23 to November 6, and it even transforms the weather during boss encounters into “a terror-inducing blood rain.” Players will get chances to earn the Legendary weapons by defeating the world bosses. Gearbox also revealed what each of the new weapons can do.

“Murmur” Legendary Tediore Assault Rifle: Executes weakened enemies with guaranteed crits on targets under 35% health
“Skully” Legendary Order Grenade: This deadly grenade fires projectiles as it seeks out the nearest target

Gearbox’s update notes included instructions for PC players with NVIDIA GeForce hardware to update their drivers to version 581.57, which was released on October 14. According to the studio, the update addressed “a number of GPU crashes.”

Earlier this week, the September 2025 video game sales charts for the US revealed that Borderlands 4 had a franchise-best launch. The Borderlands franchise is closing in on the 100 million sales milestone across all titles, and Borderlands 4 reportedly only needs to sell 6 million copies to reach that franchise mark.

Gearbox will release Borderlands 4’s first DLC on November 20. However, Borderlands 4’s Switch 2 port has been delayed indefinitely. The complete patch notes are included below.

Borderlands 4 October 23 Update

Progression, Loot, & Rewards

Reduced Specialization Respec Machine cost from 5000 Eridium to 1500
Added drops to a certain boss fight that was not dropping loot
[PC] Ultimate Vault Hunter Level 5 Rank Up mission now correctly increases rank on Steam
Granted missing cosmetic rewards for players who completed Kairos Speaks with 155 Echo Logs prior to a previous update
Improved equipment handling when opening Rewards while driving
Lost Loot Machine logic updated to better prioritize higher-quality loot in overflow situations
Lost Loot Machine SDU upgrades now properly expand slots in multiplayer sessions
Addressed a reported issue with the Lost Loot Machine that could cause duplications in multiplayer
Loot enemies now drop more cash
Golden Chests can now consistently be opened after joining a session and redeeming SHiFT keys
Reward Center behavior adjusted after claiming the Gilded Glory Pack, to prevent it from losing function
Break Free reward bundle redemption standardized, will now correctly apply account-wide as intended
Adjusted unlock conditions so Rift Incompatible achievement now correctly completes for all players in multiplayer
Cut That Out achievement now unlocks when viewing the board from a further distance.
Level-based progression updated so Crimson Rising achievement unlocks at character level 10 as designed
Timing adjustments made so Catch a Ride! achievement unlocks only at the intended progression point
Challenge tracking updated so Jakobs Throwing Knives no longer count as gun kills
Ensured that Bobblehead collectibles in Pester’s Grotto and Motherbird Node were accessible.
Discovered locations now stay discovered when returning to single-player after multiplayer
Various Fast Travel stations have been adjusted to unlock when they’re intended to, including concerns seen in Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode
Vault Key animations now play correctly during ECHO-4 sequences
ECHO Log pickup in Unpaid Tab now counts properly
Amara’s Escort to Core objective now consistently advances when replayed
Improved various instances of mission waypoints not showing up accurately

Gameplay & Missions

Maurice’s Black Market Vending Machine is able to be interacted with reliably in multiplayer
Legendary Vending Machine no longer closes unexpectedly during Vend of the Line
Made general improvements to prevent enemies from getting stuck when spawning, and addressed various reported spawn point issues
Addressed bounties Beatloaf, Grip, and Shagriculture not reliably spawning
Addressed reported instances of Terminus Range Vault enemies getting stuck on ledges during encounters
Addressed a reported issue in co-op during the Splashzone boss fight, leading to more consistent behavior
The Howl Capture Station no longer reactivates after safehouse capture
One Fell Swoop has been updated to prevent players from being left floating in the air. Bio-Bulkhead now shows the correct elemental icon and movement has been smoothed to eliminate jitter after certain attacks
Warden Scathe no longer clips through arena walls in his boss fight
Improved Echo Location guidance across several missions
Patched collision gaps, holes, clipping, and invisible walls
Corrected Order drop pod events to consistently reach that ground and no longer appear stuck in the air
NPCs should no longer cause players or vehicles to get stuck when the player runs them over
Pangolin enemies can now be damaged by grenades while in ball mode
Chain Master trait now tethers to all allies in range when multiple enemies have the ability
Mangler enemies no longer desync their position when dodging in multiplayer

Vault Hunter Changes

Harlowe the Gravitar

Addressed some Gravitar builds that reportedly caused performance slowdowns; they should no longer prevent UI elements from updating or Fight For Your Life sequences from completing
Gravitar passive and Augment bonuses to Gun Damage now correctly apply to Ripper Heavy Weapon barrels and the Ripper Legendary Heavy Weapon Steamer; Entanglement interactions also function as designed
Gravitar class mods have been adjusted to no longer roll +5 Pencils Down and push passives past their intended cap

Creative Bursts

Balance Adjustments:

Neutron Capture now converts all Gun Damage into radiation, and now only applies to Gun Shots, and not all instances of Gun Damage.

Dev Note: Neutron Capture is one of the best damage scalars in the entire game, but during testing, we found that this was erroneously applying to all instances of Gun Damage and was able to scale in unanticipated ways as a result. This new change will still see Neutron Capture being one of the best (if not the best) damage scalars in the game, but the power level will be much more in line with our expectations. Additionally, since all damage from the Gun is converted into Radiation, it should have more scaling vectors for clever build crafters, and allow for meaningful boosts from Gun Damage.

Cosmic Brilliance – Passive

Flux Generator + Annihilation interaction updated so spawned grenades now scale correctly with character level

Amon the Forgeknight

Shield visuals adjusted for improved clarity in combat situations

Trait – Forgeskill

Adjusted interaction with Forge Master class mod so Forgeskill now respects its cooldown in multiplayer

Onslaughter – Calamity

Camera behavior stabilized when combining Onslaughter with Order Legendary Pistol Noisy Cricket
Attack frequency of Rocket Punch is now consistent in multiplayer

Balance Adjustments

Seeing Red Duration restored no longer increases per point invested, and is now 4 seconds for all ranks.

Dev Note: Seeing Red was always meant to have huge damage scaling potential, but was always meant to be hard to maintain. We didn’t want to nerf this passive’s power, but we’re making the effect harder to maintain.

Scourge – Vengeance

Scorched Kairos passive now displays consistent magazine size values for the Ordnance gadget
The Forgewave no longer fires unintentionally during Glacial Rapture
Projectiles no longer get stuck in the air when Forgemaster Firewall is active during the Fortress Indomita boss fight
Blackout Shock Damage now properly scales with points invested
Blackout is now 15% per point, down from 21% per point

Dev Note: After fixing the scaling of the DoT (damage over time), we found that Blackout was overperforming a bit, so we gave it a slight re-adjustment. This will still be an overall buff, now that the DoT properly scales.

Crucible – Cybernetics

Visuals corrected so Forgeknight Forgeaxe no longer disappears when activating Crucible at the same time as throwing with Double-Edge
Corrected animation of Crucible while climbing
Raging Inferno Incendiary Damage now properly scales with points invested
Vex the Siren
Challenge “Me, Myself, Myself, and I.” now tracks correctly in multiplayer, independent of clone duration on other players
Dead Ringer – The Fourth Seal
Specter’s copied weapon now displays proper visual effects when firing with a Maliwan Element Switcher
Incarnate – Vexcalation
Bleed from Bloodletter has been updated so it no longer recursively triggers itself, preventing unintended damage loops
Phase Phamiliar – Here Comes Trouble

Balance Adjustments

Double Trouble Illusion Damage Multiplier is now 75%, up from 50%
Double Trouble Illusion’s Duration is now 8 seconds, up from 5 seconds
Apex Beast Damage Dealt increase increased to 15% from 10% per stack of Unsealed
Rafa the Exo-Soldier
Free Grenade from Filantropo class mod now deals appropriate damage even when no grenade is equipped
People Person skill tree
Action Skills – APOPHIS Lance
APOPHIS Lance changed to penalize Gun Accuracy instead of Gun Handling, resulting in projectile speed being unaffected.
APOPHIS Lance now benefits from cooldown reduction effects

Gear

Skills that boost Gun Handling now properly increase Projectile Speed
Addressed reports that swapping weapons with the Free Loader Enhancement on an Order weapon with a Ripper magazine would cause all weapons to not consume the accurate amount of ammo
Health restoration from Legendary Repkit Adrenaline Pump now works correctly when combined with Legendary Shield Guardian Angel
Reduced critical chance on Jakobs crit knife to 30%
Dev Note: It had to happen, you knew it was going to happen!
Jakobs Legendary Pistol San Saba Songbird no longer stacks infinitely when swapping weapons
Using a Jakobs Shotgun with Torgue sticky projectiles and the Knife Launcher underbarrel no longer deals knife damage after switching fire modes
Jakobs weapon parts updated so ricochet effects only trigger from intended damage sources
Ripper Legendary Shotgun Golden God overheating effect now clears correctly when switching weapons
Corrected behavior on Maliwan Legendary SMG Ohm I Got so the first three shots no longer consume ammo without dealing damage during continuous fire
Maliwan Legendary Heavy Gun Gamma Void corrected to apply proper increased Radiation damage to enemies inside the Singularity
Weapons with COV magazines now function correctly if a repair animation is interrupted with a Repkit in multiplayer
Daedalus Legendary SMG Frangible removed from chest loot tables
Daedalus Legendary AR First Impression reduced the critical damage multiplier
Recoil behavior improved while charging and firing Order ARs and Torgue Heavy with Triple Barrel parts with Gun Handling passives
Vladof Flamethrower underbarrel no longer deals infinite damage or bypasses Bio Armor
Torgue Grenades with Spring and Apex Augments now always explode on its first apex
Grenades with Spring Augment and Divider Payload now have the intended three additional bounces when paired
Gadgets no longer reset to maximum uses after gaining Second Wind
Healing Orbs spawned from Legendary Repkit Kill Spring can no longer heal enemies
Order Legendary Shield Cindershelly combat voice lines now trigger at the intended frequency, less often to be less distracting
Tediore underbarrel names now match correctly across item cards and ammo widgets
Maliwan Lingering Payload and Splat Pack Augment projectiles no longer persist when thrown at vending machines
Gear Balance: Assault Rifles:
Star Helix fire rate increased by 33%
Bonnie and Clyde base damage increased by 40%; Pair of Thieves: Bonus damage granted increased to 150% from 100%
Bugbear base damage increased by 40%; Rotary Gun: Max Damage increased to 200% from 100%
Rowan’s Charge base fire rate increased by 100%
Rowan’s Charge recoil reduced slightly
Lucian’s Flank base damage increased by 50%
Lucian’s Flank recoil reduced slightly
Aegon’s Dream base damage increased by 35%

Heavy Weapon Ordnance:

Gamma Void base damage increased by 450%; Singularity Duration decreased to 6s from 10s, Radiation damage amp increased to 50% from 40%, Gamma Void Cooldown increased by 100%
Ravenfire base damage increased by 25%
Class Mods: Dev Notes: Class Mods relating to Melee Damage, Action Skill Damage, and specific one-off stats on Legendaries have been buffed to make them more desirable.

All Class Mods:

Melee Damage Action Skill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
Skill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%

Siren Class Mods:

Avatar’s Attunement Skill Duration on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%
Kindread Spirits’ Command Skill Cooldown rate on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%
Forgeknight Class Mods:
Blacksmith’s Forgedrone Duration on level 50 class mods has increased to 45%
Blacksmith’s Legendary Effect now also increases all Forgedrone Damage by 20% per active Forgedrone
Viking’s Detonation Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
Forge Master’s Forgeskill Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
Elementalist’s Legendary Effect now also increases all Damage Dealt by Amon by 2% per active Affinity Stack

Gravitar Class Mods:

Bio-Robot’s Hazard Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%
Skeptic’s Stasis Damage on level 50 class mods has increased to 60%

Other Gear:

Dev Notes: Gear effects that are related to Melee and Action Skill Damage have increased effectiveness. We want these builds to be pushed up a bit, but wanted to distribute the power among the various pieces of gear to make them more desirable.

Rep Kits:

Hard Hitter now grants 50% Melee Damage Dealt, up from 40%

Firm Ware:

Reel Big Fist now grants 25% Melee Damage at rank 1 and 2, up from 15%/25%
Action Fist now grants 25% Melee Damage at rank 1, up from 15%
Action Fist now grants 30% Action Skill Damage at rank 2, up from 30%
Action Fist now grants 30% Action Skill Damage on Melee Kill, up from 25%

Shields:

Boxer Armor Shields now grant 20%/30%/50% Melee Damage depending on parts rolled, up from 15%/25%/40%
Berserker Energy Shields now grant 20%/30%/50% Melee Damage depending on parts rolled, up from 20%/27.5%/35%

Specializations

Groundbreaker:

Groundbreaker now only stores Gun, Action Skill, and Ordnance damage.

Dev Note: Groundbreaker was causing recursive loops that could lead to infinite damage by storing “Bonus Damage” across the board. We still want this skill to be effective, but it should not be able to scale infinitely. We’ll be monitoring Melee builds after this change to make sure they are meeting expectations, and will further adjust if necessary. This ultimately had to be fixed so we can establish a baseline before we investigate further buffs/changes.

UI & UX & Text

Sorting settings in menus now persist when switching tabs or leaving the menu
“Toggle Junk” behavior has been corrected to target the desired item in Bank menus and Backpack
Weapon wheel no longer sticks when opened near Guns vending machines
Combat Radar now features a dedicated Legendary Loot Indicator, making high-value drops easier to spot in the heat of combat
Press/Hold input now cancels correctly without triggering unintended actions
“Apply Settings” prompt only appears when changes are made
[PS5 and Xbox] Splitscreen updates, including number text scaling, Equipment/Backpack improvements, scrollbar behaviors, Party list layout, and “Flip Card” functionality
Restored Fullscreen resolution controls and switching behavior
Weekly Activities now populate after campaign completion
Maurice’s Black Market Vending Machine timer updates to show correct cooldown
Firmware 3-Piece bonuses (Ahoy, Oscar Mike, Daed-dy O’) now show cooldown icons; Deadeye Tier-3 stacks now appear in the passive bar
Boss Bar spacing corrected when Combat Radar is active
Transfer Machine naming has been standardized across the game
Travel notification now displays the initiating player’s name
ECHO Location path remains readable over time; made improvements to pathfinding
Updated various UI visuals and icons for alignment, consistency, and clarity
Updated localization and various text descriptions across the game
Standardized/updated terminology across gear, menus, customization, and manufacturers

Visuals

Updated various character and NPC animations
Corrected various reported instances of VFX not rendering correctly
Grapple Vault points now show proper models instead of placeholders
Reduced reported instances of visual pops at cinematic starts

Audio

Audio and VO now remain active when returning to menus after level traveling in multiplayer
Adjusted audio mix for improved balance across gameplay and VO
SFX volume slider now correctly applies to high HDR-value sounds
Addressed several reported instances of VO not playing as intended across multiple missions and scenarios
Vault Hunter battle voiceover frequency has been tuned so lines repeat less often
Missing pain reaction audio restored for several named NPCs
Improved various subtitle timing and text
Background music now continues as expected during the Idolator Sol boss fight
Unique audio cue restored for Phosphene (shiny) gear spawns

Settings & Accessibility

Personal Cross-play settings can now be adjusted immediately after switching Party Privacy from Local Only to Public in Session Settings
Air Dash is now fully usable on controller when Toggle Crouch is set to Off under Accessibility → Gameplay
Individual graphics options now reset properly after making changes and then selecting Run Auto-Detect in Options
[PS5 and Xbox] Field of View resets consistently to Default on consoles without showing mismatched values

Player Experience

Improvements to stability
We are continuing to investigate and will make further improvements to stability and performance.
Addressed multiple reported issues across multiplayer, missions, menus, and engine systems.
Improved matchmaking and session stability.
Addressed performance in multiplayer when there were large numbers of homing projectiles
Refined graphics settings and shader handling
Improvements made to patch reliability and automation processes
Ocean could occasionally fail to load

Miscellaneous

[Epic] Rich Presence now displays correctly in non-English languages on Epic
[PS5] Friend list now loads properly after logging out and back in during patch checks on the title screen
Joystick input now behaves consistently when lowering deadzones
[PS5 and Xbox] SHiFT account linking verification codes now auto-copy and apply correctly on console

Weekly Activities:

Weekly Big Encore Boss has switched to a tougher variant of a different existing boss with an even more rewarding loot pool for those that take it on.

The Battle Wagon

The Weekly Wildcard Mission has changed. These missions feature a guaranteed Legendary drop that you can repeatedly earn to get your ideal roll.

Mission: Dark Subject (Vampiric, Cold Hearted, Invisible)
Legendary Gear Reward: Kickballer

Maurice’s Black Market Vending Machine has moved to another location and changed its offerings. Remember, while the location is the same, your vending machine items are different from other players, so ask around to see if someone has the item you’re looking for!