In an age when attention itself has become a commodity, Microsoft has filed a patent describing a system that would weave advertisements into the natural pauses of video games—loading screens, completed levels, the quiet between actions—offering players credits or extended access in exchange for their gaze. The move reflects a broader tension in digital entertainment: the search for models that expand access without demanding upfront payment, balanced against the risk of slowly eroding the sanctity of immersive experience. Whether this represents a genuine democratization of gaming for those w