Is Microsoft getting truly desperate with adverts now? Im seriously unimpressed with a new suggestion to buy Avowed in Windows 10 and Windows 11

Date:
Thu, 10 Apr 2025 13:04:17 +0000

Description:
Avowed might be good, but I dont want Windows 10 shoving adverts in my face urging me to buy the game, thanks Microsoft.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Windows 10 and 11 users are getting an advert for Avowed Its pushing the more expensive version of the game via a pop-up This has reportedly been happening for some time now, on top of other similar game promotions which are outright ads that cross a line

Microsoft seems to be getting more desperate with adverts these days, and
more frequently pushing games in Windows for that matter, as Ive just been confronted with a new ad for Avowed in Windows 10.

Yes, my Windows 11 upgrade schedule is running a little behind my predicted timeline , and Im still on Windows 10, but not for much longer, as the operating systems End of Life is only six month away now. And Ill be shifting over especially swiftly if Microsoft is going to shove popups like this in my face via the notification center on the right-hand side of the desktop. (That said, this promotion is apparently hitting Windows 11 PCs, too, and Ill come back to that).

The notification is labelled suggested and is for the Avowed Premium Edition, urging me to forge my destiny and click a button that says Buy Now (or alternatively, theres a button to Dismiss).

Clicking on the buy option sends you through to Microsofts Xbox Store, where you can buy the standalone Avowed game, or gain access to it by signing up
for the Game Pass.

As you can see in the Reddit post below, Im not the only person whos witnessing this advert, either. Indeed, this promo is doing the rounds currently, and has also been in the past month or two, in Windows 11 and Windows 10 since Avowed was released pretty much. Rebooted my PC and this popped up. Microsoft must be really desperate to push Avowed. And this is the first time I've seen them suggest a game through the operating system notification on Windows 10. from r/KotakuInAction (Image credit: Microsoft / Obsidian Entertainment) Analysis: Outright ads are a no-go area in a paid OS, Microsoft

This Avowed advert comes on top of other games-related promotional activity, such as the same kind of notification pushing Windows 11 users to buy the
Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Vault Edition.

Its interesting to note that Microsoft is advertising the Premium Edition of Avowed, which is a considerable chunk costlier (almost 30%), and not worth it for most folks (as it only adds some skins and a digital artbook). I think it should link through to the standard edition, really, so folks are looking at the baseline product.

At this point, there may be some of you shouting at your monitor (I cant hear you incidentally) and berating me for not turning off Microsofts suggestions in Windows 10 (or indeed Windows 11 for those users). Well, I keep this
turned on because otherwise I cant see what kind of nonsense Microsoft is pulling like this, and then write about it. Hopefully persuading the company to drop this idea, and all the similar promotional stuff kicking about in Windows 10 and 11.

To be fair to Microsoft, at least in this case, if you right click on the notification, theres a link provided right there to turn off all
notifications for suggested and you can do just that. So, you dont have to rifle through the Settings app to find this choice and exercise it.

However, these suggestions are turned on by default in Windows, and Id argue they shouldnt be. Microsoft would doubtless disagree and perhaps counter that in some instances, recommendations can help people but not in the case of whats clearly an advert like this Avowed popup. Theres no arguing that youre helping someone make their PC and data more secure in this scenario, as Microsoft might suggest when it comes to nudging to back up your PC via OneDrive .

The truth is that outright adverts like this which clearly arent anything close to the typical veiled recommendations seen in Windows should not be happening at all in a paid-for desktop operating system, not unless the user explicitly wants and allows them. You may also like... Windows 11 update reportedly creates a mysterious folder on your system drive, which is certainly confusing but ultimately harmless Windows 11 is getting a very handy change to the taskbar, as Microsoft takes a leaf from Apples Mac playbook Microsoft looks to be making a big change to how you install and log in to Windows 11 and Im not happy about it at all



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/is-microsoft-getting-truly-despera te-with-adverts-now-im-seriously-unimpressed-with-a-new-suggestion-to-buy-avow ed-in-windows-10-and-windows-11


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