Xbox owners are annoyed over another fullscreen advert which has appeared across console dashboards around the world. The advert was intended to share information related to the latest Xbox Developer Direct showcase but instead, has left Xbox owners disappointed.
The full-screen advert started appearing last week and users reportedly spotted it this weekend too. The giant ad would suddenly appear on the home screen dashboard pointing gamers towards the stream link for the previous Developer Direct. It would say “Watch now on YouTube to see what’s coming to Xbox and Xbox Game Pass”.
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You can easily bypass the ad by clicking on the Exit button and the Watch The Show button will launch the YouTube app and play the stream. However, players are still annoyed that these adverts can’t be turned off. At the moment, there’s no way to opt-out of these full-screen ads. So whatever Microsoft wants to show you, you’ll have it slapped across your TV.
The main frustration here is that gamers are paying a premium to use their Xbox consoles and even more money to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass. The services on offer aren’t free so there’s no reason why Microsoft should force pop-up adverts on them.
Microsoft did the same thing back when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launched in November. Xbox owners were greeted by a giant full-screen ad advertising the game and purchase bundles. The same thing happened for Forza, the Xbox Showcase in June, Starfield and even Xbox Store sale promotions.
While the COD ad was an issue, users are especially annoyed by this Developer Direct advert because of its large white banner. Users say it “almost blinded them” when it popped up on their TV. It makes sense given how bright this advert was.
Xbox owners are now asking Microsoft to add an opt-out feature on the console so they can choose to disable the ads and no longer see them.
Okay…*sigh*
We’re gonna do this again I suppose.
The Xbox consoles are not and never were advertised or sold as a subsidized device, but the ads are sure making it feel like one.
This feels akin to getting an Amazon Kindle at a discount because its ad supported.
Xbox… pic.twitter.com/FzPzPwjkXe
— K-Med (@K__Med) January 19, 2024