Activision and Microsoft have found a new way to annoy gamers, resulting in a hefty dollop of fan backlash across social media.

As shared by people on the likes of X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, a new full-screen ad for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has begun appearing on Xbox consoles as soon as they are booted up. “Fight against the ultimate threat,” says the massive advert which hijacks the entire screen. It then asks if you’d like to pre-order the game ahead of its launch later this month, upgrade to the special Vault Edition or exit. Sadly, telling it to fuck off does not appear to be an option.

It seems like this might be Microsoft’s new advertising strategy on Xbox. Both Starfield and Forza Motorsport had giant full-screen ads like this leading up to their launch. Now that Activision Blizzard King is owned by Microsoft, it seems the big corporation doesn’t want to waste any time clawing back some money on that

Not everyone seems to be getting assaulted by this new advert, though. I fired up my Xbox and didn’t see it, while some others believe its more focused on the US market. I also can’t confirm whether this ad only appears on accounts that are registered to adults, because if its flashing up on console regardless then Microsoft could be in some hot water for advertising an 18+ rated game to children.

Understandably, people are now happy at having their eyeballs raped by a bright red Call of Duty ad. A quick browse of Reddit reveals plenty of irate fans who are not afraid to vent their feelings, with one saying, “Welp that’s vomit inducing. Whoever had that genius idea should go to hell.”

Can’t argue against that, really.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been in the news recently due its campaign being incredibly short. Those who pre-ordered the game have been given access to the singleplayer portion a week early, and according to them the campaign can be completed in about 3-4 hours. They have also reported it as having very basic missions, terrible writing and nothing new.

Over the years it has been increasingly obvious that Activision isn’t too bothered about the singleplayer element of their game, and frankly the Achievement and Trophy data has indicated that consumers don’t care that much, either. Will Microsoft and Activision ditch the campaign mode entirely?