Windows 11 Insiders — the volunteers who beta test the latest updates to the desktop operating system ahead of release — have flagged a new advertisement. The ad, which is expected to make its way to millions of PC owners later this month as part of Microsoft’s regular monthly update, has infiltrated the Settings menu.
The last time Microsoft rolled out an advertisement to laptop and desktop PC owners worldwide, it was included in the Start Menu, highlighting software like 1Password from the Microsoft App Store. According to Windows 11 Insiders, the latest advertising push is centred on Xbox Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass Takes Center Stage
Microsoft is incorporating more adverts into Windows 11, beta testers have spotted. This Microsoft-owned subscription offers a rotating catalogue of blockbuster, multiplayer, and indie games to play on Xbox consoles and PC. Games can be streamed over Wi-Fi to play on iPad, Samsung Smart TVs, Android phones and tablets, and in the coming weeks, Fire TV Stick dongles too.
However, this latest ad campaign won’t appear to everyone with Windows 11. If you’ve never played a game on your PC, you won’t be shown the advert in the Settings menu, Microsoft-focused blog Windows Central reports.
This makes a lot of sense, since it’s unlikely that someone who has never shown an interest in playing video games will want to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass, which starts from £7.99 and increases to £12.99 per month.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is a Netflix-like subscription that offers access to a rotating catalogue of console and PC games from Microsoft’s in-house studios, which now includes Bethesda and Activision Blizzard, as well as other popular developers, like EA. After the £1 trial period, the subscription rises to £12.99 a month.
In-game progress is synched over the cloud, so you can pick up on one device, like a smartphone, iPad, Samsung Smart TV, or Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and then resume where you left off on an Xbox Series X, PC, or Series S console. Xbox has even integrated features like voice chat with other places into its cloud offering, so the experience should be very close to playing on a console.
Adverts: A Double-Edged Sword
If you have played a game on your laptop or desktop PC before, unfortunately, there’s no way to block the adverts from appearing in Windows 11. Regardless of whether you’ve played a video game or not, you’re likely to still be subject to the adverts in the Start Menu that were introduced earlier this year.
As well as the new ad campaign, Windows Insiders report that a new banner has been built into the Settings app designed to prompt users to register a recovery email address for their Microsoft account. This is an important step to help secure your account, in case you lose access to your primary email address.
When it revealed initial plans to build adverts into its desktop operating system, Microsoft justified the plans by stating “The Recommended section of the Start menu will show some Microsoft Store apps. These apps come from a small set of curated developers.” PCs managed by an organisation — such as laptops issued by a business, or Windows 11 devices in schools — will be exempt from the new adverts. For everyone else, the adverts will be switched on by default.
While it’s possible the Start Menu advertisements will help Windows 11 users, especially newcomers to the platform, to stumble across useful applications they might otherwise have missed, the Recommended spots will help Microsoft to tempt third-party developers into building more applications for Windows.
It’s possible to turn off the adverts inside the Start Menu. If you’re...
