Even back then, people weren’t thrilled, many felt like paying customers were being treated as ad impressions. One Reddit thread from 14 years ago even detailed how to block Xbox dashboard ads by rerouting DNS settings and blacklisting Microsoft’s ad servers using OpenDNS or router-level controls.

Building on that, u/Jakeasuno chimed in to say that today’s complaints miss the bigger picture: “people complaining about the ads on the current dashboard clearly haven’t experienced the worst.” Meanwhile, u/Zeppelin041 admitted that mobile gaming is huge globally, but still doesn’t think that makes it okay to push phone-only titles on a $500 console.

Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard, the publisher behind Call of Duty: Mobile, making this placement part of a broader cross‑platform promotion strategy. Still, many Xbox players argue that ad placements should remain relevant to the console experience, especially on a device that now costs upwards of $599.99, after a recent $100 price increase from its original $499.99 MSRP .

Reportedly, many Xbox users have long grumbled about ads baked into the dashboard—especially when, as per fans, Sony and Nintendo continue to offer cleaner, ad-free home screens.

In a slightly older post, a user called the full-screen Starfield boot-up ad ‘awful’ and questioned why paid hardware is pushing promos. Another thread pointed to Microsoft experimenting with ad formats through the Xbox Insider Program, think dashboard tiles and reward-based promos baked right into the home screen.