Reports of ad-supported Xbox game streams show Microsoft's lack of imagination

Currently, Microsoft's long-running Cloud Gaming service is limited to players that have a Microsoft's Game Pass subscription. Now, new reporting suggests Microsoft is planning to offer non-subscribers access to game streams paid for by advertising in the near future, but only in extremely limited circumstances.

The latest wave of rumors was set off late last week when The Verge's Tom Warren shared an Xbox Cloud Gaming loading screen with a message mentioning "1 hour of ad supported playtime...