Microsoft files patent for television achievements

Microsoft has applied for a patent that would potentially award achievements for watching video content.

Games Industry originally reported on the ‘Awards and Achievements Across TV Ecosystem’ patent published by the firm, which covers the idea of rewarding viewers with achievements in essentially the same way that Xbox 360 does with games.

Some of the listed examples of achievement goals include watching an entire series from start to end, watching a certain number of commercials contained within the video content and "performing a specific action” while watching content.

Awards listed in the patent include Xbox Live-style virtual points and physical awards such as products and coupons.

The available info doesn’t indicate which platform this technology would be applied to, but the Xbox One unveiling had plenty of TV talk – so it certainly seems like one of the more likely possibilities.