Microsoft could begin serving in-game ads through Xbox Cloud Gaming in the near future

A new Microsoft patent might indicate that ads are coming to cloud gaming, meaning players will no longer just experience gameplay on their screens. 

Xbox Cloud Gaming is a great way to enjoy Xbox titles on your TV, mobile devices, and other platforms that support the feature without using an actual Xbox console. The games are streamed to your device, providing the same experience for many games. But a new patent hints at ads coming to the cloud platform, providing a personalized ad experience for players. 

As reported by Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad, a new patent by Microsoft for “personalized content for unintrusive online gaming experience” shows that the plans for in-game ads could be on the horizon. 

According to the patent’s description, adding personalized ads to video games is challenging since you cannot tailor the ads to the individual user. But games streamed through cloud gaming could include an overlay video stream to add personalized ads during periods where user interaction is “predicted to be below a threshold interaction count.” 

For example, a personalized ad could appear on a playable character’s T-shirt in the menu of FIFA, which would not interfere with the player’s stats or data. A drawing of this example is included in the patent to explain how it would work. 

Other drawings include the banners on a soccer field changing based on the player’s tailored ads and ads appearing on billboards in racing games. 

Personalized ads might be alarming to some users, but the patent claims they won’t disrupt gameplay. It is unclear if personalized ads are possible for traditional console players or if they will only occur through cloud gaming. 

Regardless, this patent is likely the start of personalized ads appearing more in games across all platforms.