Xbox plans to interrupt video games with ads according to new patent

| Games News Reporter Published September 21, 2026 1:38pm Updated September 21, 2026 1:39pm Xbox has already implemented ads into its cloud streaming service (Xbox) Amid renewed rumours of an ad supported tier for Xbox Game Pass, a newly spotted Microsoft patent describes putting ad breaks into the games themselves. There has long been talk of Microsoft implementing a cheaper tier of Xbox Game Pass that features adverts and that only seems more inevitable now that the company is offering free cloud streaming with ads. The way it works is that the ads play before you start streaming your games, which isn’t ideal but a better alternative to having the ads play during your play sessions. You might think such an idea would be too awful and unpopular for even Microsoft to attempt, but a recently discovered patent proves that the company is certainly considering it. The patent was filed in April and only published earlier this month, on the website for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), so you can freely look at it for yourself here. It was spotted and shared by Respawn First over the weekend and while it uses a lot of jargon, the main takeaway is that if implemented, this ‘Contextually Aware Management of Interactive Software Application Access’ would make it so your games momentarily pause and make you watch an advert. Expert, exclusive gaming analysis Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. That’s not to say that your game would pause randomly whenever the system feels like shoving an ad in your face. The patent states that the system would only do this in certain situations: ‘For example, the credit may have a credit duration defined at least partially by progression or events in the interactive software application, such as five rounds of gameplay, completing one level of a video game, completing three online multiplayer matches, defeating a particular non-playable character (NPC), or completing a project or task within the interactive software application.’ This is a bold new visual direction for Forza Horizon 7 (USPTO) What this means is that the system would try to avoid splicing in an ad at random, and instead try and wait for a pause in gameplay or a milestone achievement in the game. So, there wouldn’t be any nightmare scenarios of having an ad interrupt you in the middle of a boss fight. In theory anyway. It sounds very similar to how ads work in free-to-play mobile games, where the ads only play in-between levels after a certain amount of time has passed. That’s fair enough in something you haven’t paid for but there’d be rioting on the streets if Xbox tried it with something you spent £70 on. Game Pass is an awkward grey area though, in that technically you haven’t paid for the game itself, just access to the service as a whole. But even so, adding ads in the middle of gameplay for Game Pass titles is going to be very contentious. Not that Microsoft is incapable of making awful decisions that seem purposefully aimed at upsetging its audience. It’s still in the process of laying off hundreds of Xbox employees and it has bumped up the price of both the Xbox Series X/S and its cloud streaming service. It’s also rumoured the ad supported Game Pass tier won’t include day one Xbox games either, which Microsoft notably didn’t deny when questioned about it. Despite all this penny pinching, Microsoft is more than happy to foot the bill of two Hideo Kojima projects – OD and Physint – which both have star studded casts that can’t have come cheap. How many regular people would be genuinely happier seeing more ads in their games? (Microsoft) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: Buy GTA 6 from O2 for just 5p a day even if you’re not a subscriber Arrow MORE: Wolverine on PS5 is not a flop as it sells 1,900,000 copies in three days Arrow MORE: Silent Hill: Townfall review – fear and loathing in Scotland GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.