Key Takeaways
- Microsoft filed a patent application for technology that could pause games at natural stopping points, show ads, then grant players another block of uninterrupted playtime.
- Microsoft has not announced the system as an Xbox feature, and its current ad-supported cloud gaming test only shows ads before one-hour sessions rather than interrupting gameplay.
- Gamers slammed the concept as a mobile-style intrusion into paid games, while EA, Roblox, and Sony have also explored new ways to place advertising inside games.
Imagine finally beating a boss, putting down the controller for half a second and getting rewarded with … a commercial.
That’s one possibility outlined in a recently published Microsoft patent application for technology that could temporarily pause a video game, serve an ad and then give players another stretch of uninterrupted playtime afterward.
The filing, titled Contextually Aware Management of Interactive Software Application Access, was filed April 23 and published Sept. 3, though it claims priority to a related Microsoft application filed in May 2023. It describes a system that watches for natural stopping points in a game before showing what Microsoft calls “promoted audiovisual content.” Those moments could include the end of a round, a loading screen, the end of a narrative chapter or another moment when the player isn't in the middle of anything important.
In one example, a racing game would actually be paused so a player’s car couldn’t crash while the ad runs. Once the commercial is over, gameplay resumes and the player may receive a new “credit” for another block of ad-free time, with the length determined by minutes played or progress made in the game.
Before anyone throws their Xbox out the window, though, this is a patent application, not an announced feature. Microsoft hasn’t said it plans to put commercial breaks into existing Xbox games, and patents frequently describe technology that never reaches consumers.
Still, the timing raised some eyebrows.
Xbox began publicly testing ad-supported cloud gaming in July, allowing Insiders to stream select games they own without paying for a cloud subscription in exchange for watching ads before each one-hour session. At the time, the company specifically said, “We do not interrupt the flow of gameplay.”
A month earlier, chief strategy officer Matthew Ball had also said he personally believed “interrupting the gameplay experience would be bad,” while stressing on X that he wasn't speaking for Microsoft's plans.
That’s what makes the filing notable. Xbox says its current ad-supported cloud gaming test doesn’t interrupt gameplay, while the patent describes a system that could.
Gamers, unsurprisingly, have thoughts.
“So they're going to turn console and PC games into mobile games. Watch an ad to play! Except you've already paid and now you have to watch ads anyway. Disgusting,” one person wrote in response to the patent on Reddit.
“Oh great. One of the world's most profitable companies makes gaming even worse. yay!” another quipped.
“First time I run into that is the day I'm done with modern gaming,” chimed in a third.
“The more you throw ads at me, the more I stop buying games on Xbox and keep buying them on PC,” someone else wrote. “Screw this noise. No exclusive is worth this.”
Microsoft isn’t alone in finding new places to put ads in games. EA launched EA Advertising in June, opening up everything from stadium signage and scoreboards to branded challenges. Roblox already offers in-game billboards and rewarded video ads, while Sony has explored filling loading screens with videos or advertising.
The PlayStation maker even holds an older patent describing a similar system that could suspend a game, show an ad and then let the player pick up where they left off.
