Microsoft was working to offer xCloud separately.
Microsoft has argued that Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) is just an add-on or a feature, but the company was working on a dedicated version of Xbox Cloud Gaming that wasn’t tied to its premium Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tier.
Xbox’s Sarah Bond was asked about this in September 2022 and said “Xbox would very much like to do it.” But Microsoft has strangely changed its mind, perhaps thanks to regulatory concerns around cloud gaming.
“No effing way.”
That was the reaction from Xbox’s Matt Booty to Nvidia putting games on GeForce Now without Microsoft’s permission. Microsoft was “not putting our first-party IP on competing streaming or subscription services. No effing way,” in a 2019 email from Booty.
He then went on to recommend in a March 2021 email to Xbox chief Phil Spencer that Bethesda’s games be pulled from Nvidia’s GeForce Now shortly after the acquisition. “We have pulled all Xbox Game Studios titles from GeForce Now, so as to not compete with xCloud,” said Booty. “I would recommend that in the absence of any other plans that we do the same for Bethesda titles.”
https://www.theverge.com/23768244/ftc-microsoft-activision-blizzard-case-news-announcements