If you’ve ever played a free mobile game, which we all have, you’ll know just how infuriating adverts can be. Admittedly, adverts are key in supporting the ongoing funding for certain free-to-play titles, but there’s no denying that as a player, accidentally clicking on an advert or having to wait for one to end is extremely annoying.
Up to now, console gaming has largely been our ad-free safe haven - an idyllic utopia where we can all play for hours on end, ad-free. Prepare yourselves good folk, that could all end soon.
Check out this incredible video detailing the making of a carbon fiber Xbox controller below.
According to a report by Business Insider, Microsoft is currently working on an ad network that would essentially bring adverts to free-to-play Xbox games. The new project is being worked on in collaboration with ad agencies and ad tech companies, and the launch could come as soon as July due to a planned Q3 rollout.
Plans for an updated ad network have supposedly been in the works at Microsoft and Xbox for several years, with the large array of free-to-play games on 2020’s Xbox Series X/S accelerating these plans. Sources told Business Insider that ads would be incorporated as “for instance, digitally rendered billboards in a car racing game.”
Advert
Microsoft’s previous decision to incorporate adverts into the Xbox’s dashboard didn’t go down well with players and they very much risk alienating Xbox fans further if the ad network is to go ahead. Major free-to-play titles like Fortnite, Apex Legends, Roblox and PUBG: Battlegrounds could all be affected.
A spokesperson from Microsoft said, “We are always looking for ways to improve the experience for players and developers, but we don’t have anything further to share.” We hope it stays that way.
Topics: Xbox, Microsoft, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X