New Adtech From Microsoft Would Interrupt Your Game at ‘Promoted Content Trigger Events’

A patent application dated September 3, and seemingly first spotted by the gaming blog Respawn First paints a picture of future gaming that feels a little like the old “insert coin” arcade model. But instead of inserting a coin to continue, Microsoft would insert an advertisement. Into the player’s brain.

But—to be absolutely clear—the proposed invention theoretically allows this ad-view-as-transaction event to occur at some of the least irksome possible moments. Rather than, say, in the middle of a boss…