By Jacqueline Thomas
Publication Date: 2026-09-22 22:14:00
Microsoft already shows you ads whenever you log into the Xbox Series X, but it seems like it’s exploring an ad-supported way to essentially rent out games on Xbox consoles.
Microsoft filed a patent called ‘contextually aware management of interactive software application access,’ which describes a process of pausing your game at the operating system level and presenting ‘audiovisual promoted content’ (in other words, an ad), which would then grant you a credit once it’s over. That credit, at least in the way it’s presented in the patent documentation, would grant you access to the game for a limited amount of time, from 15 minutes to an hour.
It’s important to keep in mind that there’s no way to tell whether or not the technology presented in this patent will ever get implemented. But, considering the troubles Xbox Game Pass has been dealing with lately, it’s not that bizarre to imagine an ad-supported tier where you have to watch an ad every 15 minutes to keep playing your game.