Ads on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles are getting worse. Over time, Microsoft has been getting more and more aggressive with ad placement on the Xbox Series X|S. Invasive ads already clutter and ruin the Xbox Series X|S dashboard, something that has been annoying Xbox fans for a while. We also know that Microsoft is reportedly exploring a tier of Xbox Game Pass that will make players watch ads in order to play games. And this ties into what Microsoft revealed last year, which was that it was looking into ways to include ads in games, something Xbox fans threatened to boycott the brand over. In the face of public backlash, Xbox has done nothing to alleviate concerns of players, it’s only doubled down.
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Late last year, Xbox began experimenting with pop-up ads that took over the screen when the Xbox consoles were booted up. It did this with the likes of Starfield and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, two games under its umbrella as Bethesda and Activision products. Xbox fans hated it, and it hasn’t been seen since Call of Duty. It is back though, and it’s even worse now.ย
Recently, when Xbox Series X|S users have booted up their consoles, some have been greeted with a brand new pop-up ad that takes over the entire screen for EA Sports FC 25. What is more offensive about this, is that EA Sports FC 25 is not even an Xbox product, opening the door for this policy to extend to third-party games, and as a result, become more common.ย
Those on Xbox One, hopping to escape this new generation problem, there is bad news. The Xbox One isn’t safe. While this policy did not start during the Xbox One era, Xbox One consoles have been retroactively fitted to support the same type of ads.ย
Xbox fans are naturally not pleased with the latest ad and the return of an experiment they thought they effectively boycotted. What Microsoft’s plans are for this type of ad placement, we don’t know, but it clearly has not abandoned the idea, at the very least.ย
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H/T, Tom Warren.
