Microsoft patents system that freezes games to show ads, sparks backlash
A USPTO filing describes freezing gameplay after boss fights, cutscenes and quests to serve ads, with watching one earning more ad-free time.
What to know
- Microsoft's USPTO filing describes a 'content management system' that freezes gameplay at natural downtimes—after boss fights, during loading screens, at quest completion—to insert ads, using the game engine and machine learning to time them.
- Players get a block of ad-free playtime; watching an ad grants a new credit that delays the next forced ad break.
- It remains an unimplemented patent application, not a confirmed feature—no game or platform has announced using it.
- A Dexerto tweet turned a niche gaming-press story into a mass-audience backlash, with tens of thousands of engagements and widespread comparisons to industry 'enshittification'.
The dispute Whether the fix is individual consumer avoidance of ad-laden games or regulatory intervention against companies like Microsoft. · positions read across 79 posts and comments
This is another exploitative step in the industry's 'enshittification,' breaking immersion and player ownership.
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“These money lickers ffs. We had problem with owning what we own, now these mfs at Microsoft feeling the fire with forced in-game ads.”
AmmarSpaces · Mastodon ↗
Forced mid-match ad breaks would be especially unfair or absurd in competitive/live-service multiplayer.
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“can you picture being in a ranked game of something and all of a sudden mid combat your game locks up and you gotta watch an ad. you come back to find the game over and you lost because you died.”
NeoBlackheart · Reddit ↗
Players should simply avoid ad-laden games and platforms rather than expect regulation—alternatives and old hardware still exist.
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“Hey kids. Uncle Hobo here... you can keep playing them forever with no ads... Did I mention how you own the game? And there are no ads?”
WellFedHobo · Reddit ↗
Regulation, not consumer choice alone, is needed to stop this—EU rules may block it where the US won't.
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“This system might work in the US. I don't believe the EU regulators would allow this to function here.”
Collwyr · Reddit ↗
Microsoft Patent applicantJowi Morales Tom's Hardware reporterDexerto Gaming outlet / social account
How it unfolded 7 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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Follow-up coverage frames ads hitting multiplayer matches specifically
Dexerto and MediaPost publish further pieces emphasizing that the system could interrupt multiplayer matches as well as single-player moments, keeping the story circulating.
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Ma secondo me lavorano tutti per fare pubblicità a Valve e Nintendo, sennò non si spiega Poi magari avranno ragione loro eh, d'altronde viviamo in una distopia eccetera :AAAAAA: #videogiochi
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
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Hahahahahahaha oh yes inject one of the most reviled gimmicks of mobile gaming into Xbox games. After having cut every team to the bone and the shaving that bone as thin as they could, some Microsoft MBA came up with an even worse idea. https://www. polygon.com/microsoft-patent-i n-game-ads-load-screens-pauses/
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Microsoft Patents "Ad-Credit" System for PC and Consoles to Serve In-Game Ads During Pause Windows https:// respawnfirst.com/microsoft-pat ents-ad-credit-system-for-pc-and-consoles-to-serve-in-game-ads-during-pause-windows/
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Dexerto's tweet on the patent goes viral
A Dexerto social post summarizing the patent draws roughly 29,000 likes and 2,700 replies, sharply widening public awareness and reaction beyond gaming-press readers.
“Microsoft has filed a patent for ads that could interrupt games after boss fights, cutscenes, quests and multiplayer rounds…”
— @Dexerto -
Microsoft has filed a patent for ads that could interrupt games after boss fights, cutscenes, quests and multiplayer rounds Players would receive credits granting temporary game access, while watching an ad would award another credit to let them resume
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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A new Microsoft patent suggests a system for injecting advertisements into games during natural lulls in gameplay, such as loading screens or immediately following boss fights. - https:// hothardware.com/news/microsoft -patent-puts-ads-after-boss-fights-cutscenes-and-load-screens
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Hacker News discussion debates the patent's real-world likelihood
An HN thread on Tom's Hardware's coverage draws 18 comments discussing whether the system would actually ship in games and how it compares to existing free-to-play ad practices.
“a credit based at partially on the promoted audiovisual content, wherein the credit delays suspension of the user's interaction with the interactive software application during a credit duration…”
— Microsoft patent application, USPTO filing text · source -
Glaubt eigentlich noch irgendjemand daran, dass Microsoft "die Guten" sind?
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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I mean it's nice to access my stuff from my pc and my phone. So as someone not too tech savvy, cloud storage is nice. I'd love to learn how to set up a gome server or whatever someday in the future though.
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Gamers on social media call the patent exploitative
Individual posters across Mastodon and Reddit criticize Microsoft for pushing forced ads into games, framing it alongside broader complaints about losing ownership of purchased content.
“These money lickers ffs. We had problem with owning what we own, now these mfs at Microsoft feeling the fire with forced in-game ads.”
— AmmarSpaces -
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These money lickers ffs. We had problem with owning what we own, now these mfs at Microsoft feeling the fire with forced in-game ads. https://www. tomshardware.com/video-games/m icrosoft-patents-system-to-freeze-games-and-inject-ads-during-downtimes-watching-commercials-earns-ad-free-playtime-credits # technology # windows # gaming #…
2 more of the top 3 · 50 posts in this stretch
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Capitalism made all of these games even possible in the first place, it's only logical that it'd be the villain that sees the entire industry fall. From the ashes something new. That's always how it's been. It's not capitalism at fault here, every consumer has the right and responsibility to tell these corporations to fuck right off, and to…
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“Well yeah but that’s different, if I don’t plug my instagram, people won’t know I exist” That’s why advertising works. If you’re looking for something and you haven’t heard anything about any other brand , you don’t know what’s OEM and what’s temu brand. But you know XYZ is a big name brand, but bah it’s all advertising! Look! I bet there are a…
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TechSpot, Eurogamer and Polygon pick up the story amid gamer backlash
Multiple gaming outlets republish and analyze the patent same day, while early Reddit and Mastodon reactions brand it part of ongoing 'enshittification' of the games industry.
“Microslop patent describes in-game advertising triggered by boss fights, loading screens, and cutscenes…”
— jonsnow@mastodon.online -
first by TechSpot, 4d ago
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Microslop patent describes in-game advertising triggered by boss fights, loading screens, and cutscenes https://www. techspot.com/news/113909-micro soft-patent-describes-game-advertising-triggered-boss-fights.html # Microslop # Microsoft # enshittification # gaming # dystopia # technology # AI
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That would be awful. A commercial to do a boss fight or a cut scene? Way to break immersion. Not just breaking immersion, but taking it into the back ally and kicking it in the kidneys until it pees blood. And hey, I'm just saying, if my game has advertisements in it, then the game is free. I won't buy a game that has commercials in it.
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You’ve got it totally wrong. You only get fail ads if you die in combat Dark Souls style. If you beat the boss, you get a completely different type of ad.
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Tom's Hardware details how the patent's ad-trigger mechanism works
Tom's Hardware breaks down the patent language describing a 'promoted content trigger event' tied to the game engine and machine learning, which suspends play at moments like boss fights, cutscenes, level loads and menus before resuming after the ad.
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Respawn First surfaces Microsoft's 'ad-credit' patent filing
Gaming outlet Respawn First reports on a USPTO application describing a system that gives players a block of ad-free playtime, then opens a 'promoted content' window and freezes the game state to serve an ad, rewarding viewers with a new ad-free credit.
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first by Tom's Hardware, 4d ago
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# Microsoft Patents "Ad-Credit" System for PC and Consoles to Serve In-Game Ads. Players start the game with a block of ad-free playtime (e.g., 30 minutes or 1 complete level). As the timer nears its expiration, the ad delivery system opens a brief “promoted content” window. ... From there, the ad tech freezes the game state to serve a video or…
2 more of the top 3 · 16 posts in this stretch
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This constant push by corporations for more and more ads is dystopian. With sonys abandonment of physical games and xboxs in-game ads, I think the next gen console sales are going to absolutely tank. Everyone's going to be sailing the high seas on PC if they keep this up.
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I know english is not my first language but in mine, 40% is not a small minority. Heck, even now, physic sometimes outsolds digital in Europe. For example, France last year was almost perfectly split between physical and digital sales on console.
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Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Gagadget.com, 3d ago · also MediaPost
1 more headline
- Microsoft Patent Hints At Contextual In-Game Ads MediaPost · 2d ago
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2 outlets Microsoft patents idea for in-game PC and Xbox adverts shown during downtime "trigger events"
first by Eurogamer.net, 3d ago · also Eurogamer
and 7 smaller pieces
What people are saying 12 voices from 1 site · best of 79 · verbatim
- Will Microsoft actually implement this system in a shipping game, or is it a defensive/unused patent filing?
- Would EU or other regulators block this kind of ad-freeze mechanic even if deployed in the US?
- Sep 21
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Makes sense for them to move towards no longer having "offline" games even if it's single player only. If they control the source, requiring online linking in the background, then "features" like these are possible for them to implement. It's similar to LG's TV phoning home and playing commercials on your screens. Now they can inject ads into…
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Ok, I agree with the Nintendo one. But their gameplay and retail experience is currently looking to be the only one still worthwhile, and while you and I might be bothered by their approach to piracy the general customer base won't know and care, but will be bothered by ads or lack of physical media. And yes, hardware is ridiculous, especially…
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The good thing I guess is that Nintendo often does their own thing (for better and for worse) regardless of the rest of the games industry My main thing for this is that we're in a fortunate spot that games are just a luxury. It's not food or toiletries, it's really easy to just not play games that do this hellish ad bullshit. Install Linux if…
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Don't forget that Netflix itself is jacking up their prices every other year. Then, they said there'd be a cheap offering with "unintrusive" ads for those who couldn't afford more (just like fucking Amazon, only with them you don't seem to have a choice either way, and the ads there are oh so annoying, I can only stomach it for a few hours at my…
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Yup. In reality people go like "I'll pay whatever, accept the ads, spying 3rd party launchers, beta 'full' releases, day-1 DLCs, moving content from base game to paid DLCs, creating problems to sell the solution in DLCs, and them taking my 1st-born"... Then they wonder why things are getting so anti-consumer.
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Ever use fisherman couch drops? They taste horrible. They smell horrible. They work. They come in a tiny little box, and every time I need a new box I have to ask someone at cvs. They use to not even be stored near the other cough drops at one point. But damn they work and work well. Like 1 drop and you’re good for hours. Unlike the other brands…
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The irony of a website talking about invasive Ad systems which used invasive ad systems while reading the content wasn’t lost on me and it made me giggle a little as I scrolled through the article on my phone being met by 5 different ads popping up at the bottom and top of my phone and a nice giant ass one that was bright and burnt my eyes out…
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Hey kids. Uncle Hobo here. I'd like to tell you about this neat vintage system called a super Nintendo. You can find games for them all over, and you can keep playing them forever with no ads. It was good enough for us in the '90s. You'd be surprised at how entertaining final fantasy 3 was. And Super Mario World. Hours of fun there. Did I mention…
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This is purely to target kids because they are pretty much the only demographic that is cosistantly influenced by advertising. Just look at He-Man's effect on cartoons; it was created to sell a product, not tell a story, and that became the norm for cartoons for over a decade because it moved product. Sound a lot like videogames these days. They…
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can you picture being in a ranked game of something and all of a sudden mid combat your game locks up and you gotta watch an ad. you come back to find the game over and you lost because you died. Think CS you are the last alive you flick and click but the second before the gun fires you game locks up and it starts playing an ad for Viagra or…
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Sony: YOu will own NOTHING Micro$lop: You will rent to own (maybe, we will see how sony comes out of this whole thing first), AND YOU WILL GET ADS. Every other media streaming app:Wait we can charge money AND give them ads, CHACHIN! Enshitification going full steam ahead, expect years premium tier subscription cost increases, AND advertisement…
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I've got multiple children and those are just not conducive to this hobby, so my one day a week of playing games tends to be a way to hang out with distant friends and we just play shit like Lethal Company and Mecca Chameleon. Why would I spend my few hours a week getting shat on by kids who play all day in MW37 or BO43 when I can have some actual…