Xbox Swapped Your Dashboard Background for Modern Warfare 4 Ads
Your wallpaper has been drafted.
Xbox owners woke up on Modern Warfare 4's launch day to find Call of Duty all over their dashboards. Windows Central reports that the promo fills the ad tiles along the bottom of the home screen and also replaces your custom dynamic background, even if you already bought the game (Windows Central). Picking a new background in the Personalization menu doesn't fix it.
The good news is there's a setting that does.
How do you turn off the Modern Warfare 4 background on Xbox?
It takes about a minute on Xbox Series X|S:
- Press the Xbox button to open the guide, then go to Settings.
- Open General, then Personalization.
- Go to My backgrounds. You might need to enter your PIN here.
- Turn off "Show event-themed backgrounds."
Your own background should come back once that setting is off. As far as we can tell, the ad tiles along the bottom are separate, and this setting only covers the background.
Why are Xbox fans annoyed about the Modern Warfare 4 ads?
Windows Central thinks this is the first time Microsoft has done a full background takeover like this. The writer gave the stunt a 0/10. That's despite also saying Modern Warfare 4 looks like the best Call of Duty of the decade so far. Their bigger point is about ownership. People paid for the console and Game Pass, and plenty of them paid for the game too, so a launch-day takeover of the whole home screen feels like a lot.
They also tie it to a wider trend of tech companies treating the stuff you buy as ad space, like the recommended content that ships with Windows 11. To be fair to Microsoft, Windows Central also notes that Call of Duty matters a lot to Xbox's bottom line right now, after last year's disappointing entry dragged on the numbers.
Will the Modern Warfare 4 takeover go away on its own?
Windows Central expects it to be temporary and probably gone by the end of the day. Turning off event-themed backgrounds should also keep the next one from showing up, at least for now.
I'd argue the ad tiles were already plenty. Your background is the one part of the dashboard that feels like yours, and it should stay that way (your Master Chief wallpaper deserves better). Our Modern Warfare 4 launch and review roundup is right here.
More gaming news is right here.
Header image is an official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 screenshot from Activision, via Steam.
