Do you want ads in your games? Microsoft is reportedly working on its own platform to integrate commercial ads into Xbox and PC games.
We haven’t heard all about video game advertising. Often complained about as a complex topic, the integration of advertisements is not for everyone. For example, we remember Electronic Arts, which caused a scandal in 2020 by adding ads in UFC 4. The publisher removed them immediately, but this new form of monetization will eventually arrive sooner or later.
Microsoft wants to integrate advertising into Xbox games
Maybe it will be Microsoft to democratize it. According to the very serious Business Insiderthe American publisher wants to add advertising to its Xbox games. Put your forks away for now, the tech giant just wants to apply that policy to play for free. The idea then would be to sell advertising space within free games to allow brands to communicate with players.
Unlike the UFC 4 debacle, the ads are in the game considered by Microsoft would not be interstitial. In other words, nothing will appear in the rest of the game or interfere with gameplay in a disruptive way. Xbox’s parent company only relies on advertisements, as we’ve seen with other games. For example, there will be more in-game panels with an ad at the top.
Create a new revenue stream for free-to-play
If the practice is notorious, it is far from new. In its day, Counter Strike was already showing advertisements for certain brands on posters pasted into the cards. Former Xbox exclusive Alan Wake was also a master of product placement. And we’re not even talking about Death Stranding and his character gorging himself on monster energy drinks whenever he got the chance.
The most surprising thing here is that Microsoft would not pay any commission on the profits made by these pubs. The goal would simply be to create new revenue streams for free-to-play game developers without having to check out players. Knowing that the issue is sensitive, the company intends to create a private marketplace that will allow it to choose for itself the ads that could be broadcast in Xbox and PC games through this future new platform. Contacted by Business Insider, Microsoft declined to confirm this rumor. However, media sources indicate that the manufacturer is planning a rollout by the third quarter of 2022. The publisher builds up
