The free, ad-supported cloud gaming service is betting that Samsung’s Gaming Hub can finally make big-screen play mainstream.
Phȳnd teams with Samsung for smart game play / Phȳnd
At Gamescom 2025, Phȳnd announced a high-stakes partnership with Samsung that could reshape how people play video games: its free, ad-supported cloud gaming service is set to launch via Samsung’s Gaming Hub, reaching millions of Smart TVs across US living rooms this year, with a global rollout planned for 2026.
The move arrives at a pivotal moment for cloud gaming. The category’s growth has been uneven. While giants such as Google Stadia have faltered, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now endure thanks to deep pockets and ecosystem integration.
In contrast to subscription-heavy models, Phȳnd is taking a different approach. The platform is pushing to make cloud play more inclusive with no downloads, no consoles and no monthly fees. Ads and sponsorships serve as the economic engine and the Samsung integration promises users frictionless access via TV remotes, smartphones or gamepads.
Phȳnd is stepping into a competitive field. Samsung’s Gaming Hub already hosts Xbox Cloud Gaming, GeForce Now, Amazon Luna, Antstream Arcade and Blacknut. Unlike those models, which typically require subscriptions or ownership, Phȳnd is betting its free-to-play, ad-supported approach can appeal to a broader, casual audience.
At the same time, Microsoft is expanding its cloud gaming footprint with new Game Pass tiers and even exploring ad-supported models. Jackbox Games has also launched an ad-supported streaming service for smart TVs, underscoring an industry-wide push to lower the barrier to play.
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Co-founder Andre Swanston says his team is watching for meaningful engagement rather than vanity metrics in Phȳnd’s first year. Retention, frequency of play, brand investment in ads and developer satisfaction with revenue will be the early signals of success.
He also frames Phȳnd as solving old problems that dogged earlier entrants: poor performance, subscription barriers that limited reach and fragmented access requiring multiple publisher log-ins. By leaning on Samsung’s Tizen-powered platform, the idea is that players can “just play.”
The broader question is whether making cloud gaming easier and ad-supported will drive lasting engagement. With Samsung Smart TVs now stacking free services like GameLoop and Volley alongside Phȳnd, TV gaming is suddenly beginning to resemble the variety of mobile. For consumers, that could mean shifting seamlessly from Netflix to casual puzzles to more complex titles, all on the same screen.
That potential is what Samsung, developers and advertisers will be watching closely as Phȳnd moves from US beta into its planned global expansion.
