TV-like ads may appear in console games soon [Update]

A new marketing company has successfully tested a platform that brings advertising to console games.

Update: After this report was published, EA contacted that the report was inaccurate. The publisher stated in a statement to iGamesNews that it does not intend to include TV-like advertisements in its console games.

“After implying in incorrect reports that we want to introduce’TV-style’ ads in our games, we would like to clarify that in-game ads for console games are not something we are currently considering, or we have signed any agreements. Implementation,” an EA spokesperson said.

“Creating the best player experience remains our top priority.”

You can read the original story below.

ability: Advertising is not new in the gaming world, but certain types of TV commercials that are common on cable and free-to-air channels may soon enter console games. Player WON, A platform that brings TV-style advertising into the game, has signed agreements with EA and Hi-Rez.

According to a report by Axios, PlayerWON is from Simulmedia, which has been testing this pioneering advertising platform for a year and is preparing to launch it this week. The idea is to allow advertisers to reach younger people through games in a way that traditional radio advertising cannot replicate.

In-game advertising is also generally cheaper than branded content and other advertising methods.

Advertisements are streamed from the PlayerWON server, allowing the service to ensure that players watch the scene in its entirety. The system also aims to enable publishers to provide players with in-game rewards, such as in-game currency and character cosmetics, when watching advertisements. According to Simulmedia’s research, it was found that players are “willing to watch up to 10 ads a day to unlock free benefits”.

The company has signed agreements with EA (although EA disputes this) and Smite publisher Hi-Rez. In fact, a PlayerWON demo campaign has already been run in Smite and shows that if players are shown ads that offer free items, they are more likely to spend money in the game.

Although no other games are mentioned in the report, Simulmedia wants to expand its advertiser network and expand its coverage to approximately 12 games by the end of the year.

This mode should already be familiar to players of free mobile games. If we finally see it in console games, it may also start in free games. In fact, a similar form of in-game advertising was quietly added to UFC 4 (a $60 game) last year, but was later deleted after strong opposition.