Microsoft wants to 'recruit your squad' in the latest unbidden Game Pass ad on your Windows Settings homepage. Also, it might crash

Image for Microsoft wants to 'recruit your squad' in the latest unbidden Game Pass ad on your Windows Settings homepage. Also, it might crash
(Image credit: Microsoft)

The latest Windows 11 Insider Preview build (22635.4805) has been rolling out for some, and Microsoft's blog proudly lists the changes. Among them is the announcement that Game Pass Ultimate and regular Game Pass subscribers will see a new card on the Settings homepage encouraging you to share a 14-day free trial of PC Game Pass with 'up to a (sic) 5 friends.'

And further down the post, under known issues? "The Home page of settings may crash." I've yet to receive the update myself, but here's how my homepage looks currently, with multiple cards already present.

A screenshot of the home page of Windows Settings, with ad cards on the far right.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

While it's not clear if the new ad is to blame for the crashing issue, I can't be the only one increasingly annoyed by the fact my Windows settings are becoming cluttered—especially as I am a Game Pass subscriber, and I don't need new features advertised to me for something I'm already paying for when I'm scrolling my settings menu.

Alright, I'm not really on the homepage that often, and you probably aren't either. But for the less PC-savvy, greeting settings explorers with a bunch of ads for other Microsoft products and features doesn't exactly make the experience straightforward—especially if the homepage crashes before they find the setting they're looking for.

Bloat is bad, and bloat this most certainly is. Anyway, there are still some useful features added in the new update, including the ability to use your Xbox controller to navigate and type on a new Gamepad keyboard layout, some new Narrator functionality, and some explainer messaging added to Snap.

Microsoft says this is aimed at "driving contextual learning and discovery", which essentially amounts to some text at the top of Snap hover windows telling users what each function does.

It's not the most exciting of updates, granted. But at least here Microsoft seems to be making an attempt to make Windows features easier to navigate, rather than shoving yet another ad in to important pages that are fairly cluttered to begin with, potentially breaking them in the process.

Personally, I'm still waiting for a build that fixes the litany of issues created by the Windows 11 24H2 update. In the meantime though, some accessibility is added—and some, it seems, is buried under yet more ad cards. MS giveth, and MS advertises its products in your settings menu. The world keeps turning, folks.

Best gaming PCBest gaming laptop


Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.
Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

Andy Edser
Hardware Writer

Andy built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 12, when IDE cables were a thing and high resolution wasn't—and he hasn't stopped since. Now working as a hardware writer for PC Gamer, Andy's been jumping around the world attending product launches and trade shows, all the while reviewing every bit of PC hardware he can get his hands on. You name it, if it's interesting hardware he'll write words about it, with opinions and everything.

Read more
An edited Microsoft/Steam logo, illustrating the potential future integration Microsoft has for an Xbox app.
Microsoft crawls back to Steam ahead of schedule by leaking a screenshot of an app where you can launch Steam games through Xbox
Eivor battling multiple foes in Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Previously borked Ubisoft games are now fixed on Windows 11 24H2 as the troubled update begins automatically downloading to compatible PCs
A photo of the Windows update menu, showing that I'm all up to date
Latest Windows 11 Insider Build fixes 24H2 update's most annoying issues, including Auto HDR bugs and mouse stuttering
Edge
Microsoft Edge Game Assist hits Stable release so you can now use it to pin videos in-game without setting it as your default browser
Microsoft Windows 11
The latest Windows 11 dev build gives you the ability to snap together commonly paired apps for access in a single click, and I'm already sold
Microsoft Copilot
A rather pleasing Windows 11 update bug automatically uninstalls Copilot and unpins it from the taskbar, which is jolly nice of it
Latest in Software
New Discord desktop client themes.
Discord drops big update with 'completely new' in-game overlay and new dark themes for the desktop client
Image for
'No real human would go four links deep into a maze of AI-generated nonsense': Cloudflare's AI Labyrinth uses decoy pages to trap web-crawling bots and feed them slop 'as a defensive weapon'
A screenshot from game Mudborne of a little humanoid frog in a marsh
Five new Steam games you probably missed (March 24, 2025)
CHINA - 2025/02/11: In this photo illustration, a Roblox logo is seen displayed on the screen of a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
'Humans still surpass machines': Roblox has been using a machine learning voice chat moderation system for a year, but in some cases you just can't beat real people
OpenAI logo displayed on a phone screen and ChatGPT website displayed on a laptop screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on December 5, 2022.
ChatGPT faces legal complaint after a user inputted their own name and found it accused them of made-up crimes
A photo of a monitor displaying the output screen of Razer's AI QA Copilot system
It's not for PC gamers but Razer's new AI QA Copilot could ultimately benefit every PC gamer out there, and it's looking like it could be a killer app that AI needs right now
Latest in News
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode - Naoe holding a tanto in her hand as two guards fall to the ground behind her.
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first hotfix addresses stability issues and a photo mode crash
A close-up of a scared young girl's face as she stumbles through the woods, a crown of twigs and flowers upon her head.
CD Projekt says it's not using generative AI on The Witcher 4 because it's 'quite tricky when it comes to legal IP ownership'
A plastic duck dressed like a circus weightlifter
The 5th highest-rated game on Steam in 2022 is back with a multiplayer sequel
A still from a video announcement of Game Informer's return, featuring the magazine's Halo 2 issue.
Game Informer is back from the dead: 'The whole team has returned'
An April Fool's Day Palworld game concept about dating Pals
From Palworld movies to Palworld TV shows: 'Everyone under the sun pitched us every idea you can imagine,' says Pocketpair's communications director
Ciri in The Witcher 4
The Witcher 4 won't be out until sometime in 2027 at the soonest, CD Projekt says