diff --git a/build/runsettings.proj b/build/runsettings.proj
index 46f4d2bb0c5..c97dc1eaff8 100644
--- a/build/runsettings.proj
+++ b/build/runsettings.proj
@@ -20,6 +20,13 @@
             Properties="RunName=NuGet.Tests.Apex;
             FileName=NuGet.Tests.Apex.dll;" />
 
+        <!-- NuGet.Tests.Apex.Gate.runsettings (VS test gate - runs only [TestCategory("Gate")] tests) -->
+        <MSBuild
+            Projects="template.runsettingsproj"
+            Properties="RunName=NuGet.Tests.Apex.Gate;
+            FileName=NuGet.Tests.Apex.dll;
+            TestCaseFilter=TestCategory=Gate;" />
+
         <!-- NuGet.Tests.Apex.Daily.runsettings -->
         <MSBuild
             Projects="template.runsettingsproj"
diff --git a/eng/pipelines/vs-test/build.yml b/eng/pipelines/vs-test/build.yml
index 41704439700..08b66984453 100644
--- a/eng/pipelines/vs-test/build.yml
+++ b/eng/pipelines/vs-test/build.yml
@@ -225,6 +225,11 @@ steps:
           Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=RunSettingsDrop]$runSettingsDrop"
           Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=RunSettingsDrop;isOutput=true]$runSettingsDrop"
 
+          # Test gate drop — mirrors the product drop path with Tests/ prefix so the VS gate can find it by NuGet version
+          $testsDrop = "${env:MicroBuild_ManifestDropName}" -replace '^Products/', 'Tests/'
+          Write-Host "Tests Drop: $testsDrop"
+          Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=TestsDrop]$testsDrop"
+
           $vsBootstrapperBranch = dotnet msbuild -getProperty:VsTargetBranch build\config.props
           Write-Host "VS Bootstrapper Branch: $vsBootstrapperBranch"
           Write-Host "##vso[task.setvariable variable=VsBootstrapperBranch;isOutput=true]$vsBootstrapperBranch"
@@ -306,6 +311,16 @@ steps:
       usePat: true
       dropMetadataContainerName: "DropMetadata-RunSettings"
 
+  - task: artifactDropTask@0
+    displayName: "Publish test gate drop"
+    inputs:
+      dropServiceURI: "https://devdiv.artifacts.visualstudio.com"
+      buildNumber: "$(TestsDrop)"
+      sourcePath: '$(Build.StagingDirectory)\RunSettings'
+      toLowerCase: false
+      usePat: true
+      dropMetadataContainerName: "DropMetadata-TestGate"
+
   - task: PublishPipelineArtifact@1
     displayName: "Publish E2E tests"
     inputs:
diff --git a/test/NuGet.Tests.Apex/NuGet.Tests.Apex/NuGetEndToEndTests/IVsServicesTestCase.cs b/test/NuGet.Tests.Apex/NuGet.Tests.Apex/NuGetEndToEndTests/IVsServicesTestCase.cs
index 6b76e5caa91..d7764207d34 100644
--- a/test/NuGet.Tests.Apex/NuGet.Tests.Apex/NuGetEndToEndTests/IVsServicesTestCase.cs
+++ b/test/NuGet.Tests.Apex/NuGet.Tests.Apex/NuGetEndToEndTests/IVsServicesTestCase.cs
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ public class IVsServicesTestCase : SharedVisualStudioHostTestClass
 
         [TestMethod]
         [Timeout(LongerTimeout)]
+        [TestCategory("Gate")]
         public void SimpleInstallFromIVsInstaller()
         {
             // Arrange