Once again, Xbox owners are expressing their dissatisfaction with Microsoft over what they perceive as “very disappointing” advertisements.
This time, the source of frustration is the full-screen advertisements, a feature players currently cannot opt out of, designed to raise awareness about last week’s Developer Direct showcase.
“The Xbox consoles were never advertised or sold as subsidized devices, but these ads are certainly making it feel like they are,” voiced one disgruntled player. “It’s reminiscent of purchasing an Amazon Kindle at a discount because it’s ad-supported.
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
“If you defend this, I won’t ever understand why you do. If you are apathetic to it, I completely understand you, and if you’re disappointed by it, I’m with you.”
Expressing his exasperation, The Verge’s Tom Warren shared a picture of the intrusive advertisement, stating, “The fullscreen Xbox pop-up ad has returned for the Developer Direct. I just turned on my console and got this one.”
Another player echoed the sentiment, expressing disappointment with the increasing prevalence of full-screen ads on Xbox. “ANOTHER full-screen ad before getting to the dashboard. I guess this is the new thing now on Xbox. Xbox is very disappointing.”
While some players acknowledge the importance of ads for events related to Xbox games, they are calling for a way to disable full-screen adverts or, perhaps, advertising altogether. Smaller, less intrusive ads have been present on Xbox dashboards for over a decade.
This is not the first time players have voiced their displeasure regarding Xbox advertisements. In November, Activision and Xbox faced criticism for releasing full-screen ads for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on the console’s homepage. The issue of intrusive ads continues to be a point of contention among the Xbox community.
