The patent system is broken. This is such a simple concept, even if a terrible one that sucks.
this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2026
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This is a patent application. Many applications are filed for terrible and/or fundamentally unpatentable ideas. Even by huge companies.
Yeah, I was wondering if they are trying to use USPTO incompetence to destroy the mobile gaming industry.
While ad free implies being on some sort of game pass (fuck that now as it is), I would sooner go back to board games before ever even considering a game with this included. Companies buying virtual billboards was gross enough.
Big props to M$ for patenting this so when they inevitably fuck it up, it’s off the table for others.
board games
Don’t give them any ideas for trying to make persistent ads in those too. Monopoly would ironically be the first.
You’re trying to tell me the countless reskins aren’t just ads?
me getting physical Microsoft junk mail when I try playing chess by correspondence
Why have you done this.
I'm sure this has been done before. stupid web clicker city builder or whatever that if you watch advert you et more in game credits. It might not be exactly the same but surely not novel enough to be patentable, prior art. Or in this case prior twat.
USPTO changed its rules in 2013; prior art only counts if it was patented first. This is why Nintendo has been trying to patent stuff other companies are doing that is similar to their games (eg PalWorld).
Part of me wishes Nintendo was doing this to lose on purpose so there is precedent to not use this against them in the future, but I’ve become far too pessimistic for a “good-guy Nintendo” arc…
Suicide.
FAFO, stapitalism stans
Oh, then wait and see if game has advertising tripe in game and make sure not to buy. Got it.
Reminder: mobile games have had ad = benefit for over a decade. However, this sounds like the reverse (get a credit = no ads or ad free time).
Roblox has had integrated ads for some time, typically diegetic ads on in game billboards. Some of these integrations go less noticed because of the parallel to the real world & they aren’t disruptive of gameplay flow.
Microsoft is welcome to try this pattern, but it’ll likely require developers to be heavily incented to do so. Given that MS just downsized, meaning they have less first parties & have rightfully angered some pockets of the game development world, I feel like their only option here is lots of money or force the loop. Forcing this loop will damage the total addressable market, unless it’s used for F2P games.
Long story, short: they may be patenting this, but they have a long, uphill battle to get this to work in any sort of paid, AAA game/product. They would need an amazing draw to pull people passed it, and a lot of their brands don’t have the draw they used to (see Halo Infinite).
Farmville all over again.
"to deliver last blow to the final boss, please watch these 10 minutes of ads. failure to do so will restore the boss to full health"
The shareholder will love that
Literally everyone else, though…
With some of the shit people put up with nowadays in games, they would probably swallow this up too, in some capacity.
Makes you wonder given the timing of announcing every tier of game pass will now include (very) limited monthly cloud gaming hours. I think I saw ultimate would include 15 h/mo. With yet unannounced pricing on how much an extra hour would cost, what if ads end up being their solution… 🤔