Ad-supported
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Monetized through advertisements which do not form natural part of the game, e.g. watching a video before playing, on-screen launcher ads, ads in the in-game menu system, etc. |
- NBA 2K20 video advertisements before playing a match.
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- Does not include games that advertise their own microtransactions.
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Games that are ad-supported will usually display an ad ticker on the game screen (e.g. Microsoft Solitaire Collection); or, less commonly, forced video ads (NBA 2K21). Some smaller games have a microtransaction dedicated to removing ads permanently (e.g. My Land), but such a feature is far from universal.
Issues fixed
Remove ads with OS-wide adblockers
Method 1
Add the ad domains to the OS' hosts file
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- Use an app process scanner to see which web domains it connects to; add some of the most common domains used in ads (e.g.
ad.doubleclick.net ) and hope for the best; or use a compact and well-maintained online hosts file, e.g. Peter Lowe's List.
- Open the OS' hosts file. On Windows it is located at
%SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc\hosts , on macOS it's at /private/etc/hosts , and on Linux it's at /etc/hosts
- At the bottom of the file, paste the domain(s) you want to block, preceded by
0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1 , e.g. 0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.net
- Save the file.
- Restart the computer.
- Various third-party tools exist to help keep the hosts file in sync with online hosts files, including (but not limited to) hostsmgr and Gas Mask
- Using the hosts file, also impacts web browsers. And since hosts files are unable to differ between the contexts in which a site is loaded (in contrast to browser-based adblockers), this will cause many redirection links to display a 404 error, including ones used on PCGamingWiki game pages.
- Hosts files used in operative systems, are unable to automatically treat entries as applying to all subdomains. For instance,
0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.net will not block subdomain.ad.doubleclick.net
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Method 2
AdGuard for Windows/Mac
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- Install the 14-day trial period for the Windows or Mac version.
- In the initial setup, say yes to blocking ads (or otherwise enable AdGuard Base filter in the Installed filters settings after the initial setup).
- Add the game/launcher where you want to block ads, to List of filtered applications (where you can also choose to make AdGuard disregard specific web browsers).
- Restart the game if applicable.
- Considered the only tool that is able to apply browser-style adblocker filters systemwide, although only URL paths and scripts can be blocked in non-browser games.
- Every game and launcher where you want to block ads, have to be added manually to List of filtered applications.
- Requires a license purchase after 14 days. Choice between yearly and lifetime.
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Games that are ad-supported will usually display an ad ticker on the game screen (e.g. Microsoft Solitaire Collection); or, less commonly, forced video ads (NBA 2K21). Some smaller games have a microtransaction dedicated to removing ads permanently (e.g. My Land), but such a feature is far from universal.
Issues fixed
Remove ads with OS-wide adblockers
Method 1
Add the ad domains to the OS' hosts file
|
- Use an app process scanner to see which web domains it connects to; add some of the most common domains used in ads (e.g.
ad.doubleclick.net ) and hope for the best; or use a compact and well-maintained online hosts file, e.g. Peter Lowe's List.
- Open the OS' hosts file. On Windows it is located at
%SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\etc\hosts , on macOS it's at /private/etc/hosts , and on Linux it's at /etc/hosts
- At the bottom of the file, paste the domain(s) you want to block, preceded by
0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1 , e.g. 0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.net
- Save the file.
- Restart the computer.
- Various third-party tools exist to help keep the hosts file in sync with online hosts files, including (but not limited to) hostsmgr and Gas Mask
- Using the hosts file, also impacts web browsers. And since hosts files are unable to differ between the contexts in which a site is loaded (in contrast to browser-based adblockers), this will cause many redirection links to display a 404 error, including ones used on PCGamingWiki game pages.
- Hosts files used in operative systems, are unable to automatically treat entries as applying to all subdomains. For instance,
0.0.0.0 ad.doubleclick.net will not block subdomain.ad.doubleclick.net
|
Method 2
AdGuard for Windows/Mac
|
- Install the 14-day trial period for the Windows or Mac version.
- In the initial setup, say yes to blocking ads (or otherwise enable AdGuard Base filter in the Installed filters settings after the initial setup).
- Add the game/launcher where you want to block ads, to List of filtered applications (where you can also choose to make AdGuard disregard specific web browsers).
- Restart the game if applicable.
- Considered the only tool that is able to apply browser-style adblocker filters systemwide, although only URL paths and scripts can be blocked in non-browser games.
- Every game and launcher where you want to block ads, have to be added manually to List of filtered applications.
- Requires a license purchase after 14 days. Choice between yearly and lifetime.
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