It appears XBOX has patented a new technology tied to advertisements, with advanced techniques to put ads in the middle of gameplay during “natural moments” so as to minimize gameplay disruptions.
This is according to reputable XBOX leaker eXtas1s, who shared the news on X. According to them, Microsoft developed a “system capable of detecting natural moments in a game session,” which would display ads during loading screens or at the ends of cutscenes, for example.
Furthermore, the system seems to also encompass a “reward system” for watching ads, which would, in theory, allow you to play without interruption for a certain period of time. Various technologies could be used to ensure ads are played at the correct moment, the leaker explains, from APIs, information from the game itself, or even AI that would scan the screen and determine appropriate ad placements.
Read what’s behind the latest news in gaming (with a bit of snark) by subscribing to the Destructoid Checkpoint newsletter!
Keep in mind that companies patent things all the time, sometimes even out of noble intentions like preventing others from ever stepping in to use similar technologies. While I don’t see megacorporations as being noble per se, it’s good to know that the tech is gated by one entity alone, rather than being a free-to-use open-source tech that’d spread through the industry like wildfire.
Sony, too, has a bizarre ad patent that’d play an advertisement during your gameplay and even require you to stand up and yell out the name of the product being advertised, so tech like this isn’t unheard of. I just hope it’s never actually used.
Furthermore, Microsoft’s patent could be used only for its cloud gaming side. Cloud services are getting incredibly expensive both for the end-user and those maintaining them (thanks, AI), so ad-based subscriptions could be a way out of this current situation. Not that I’m super excited about our ad-infested, digital-only, cloud-based future.
