Microsoft is preparing ads inside Xbox games

Horus-Anhur · Apr 15, 2022

Microsoft is building an ad program that will let brands advertise in Xbox games

Microsoft wants to let advertisers place ads inside free-to-play Xbox games, and it is currently identifying adtech companies who can create the in-game inventory and work with ad agencies to place the ads, said two people who are involved in the talks.

This new program will boost Xbox's limited ad inventory by adding more games that brands can advertise in and by allowing more developers to sell ad space.

Those sources said those ads would show up as, for instance, digitally rendered billboards in a car racing game. Insider was unable to learn if Xbox will also offer other types of in-game ad units, like avatar skins or video ads that play in gaming lobbies. Insider was also unable to determine if Microsoft has pitched the Xbox offering to advertisers yet.

Insider's sources expect this capability to be live by the third quarter.

Microsoft did not confirm these plans. A spokesperson said,"We are always looking for ways to improve the experience for players and developers but we don't have anything further to share."

While ads in mobile games are common, ads in console games are rare.

Xbox currently allows limited forms of advertising. Right now, advertisers can buy ads on the Xbox dashboard, and they can buy in-game ads on certain games, through third parties Yahoo and Anzu respectively.

This new program however could open up Xbox to more advertisers who want to message people in games, because it will provide tools any participating game developer can use to sell ads.

The two sources said the tech giant did not seem intent on taking a cut of ad revenue, and that it seemed more interested in building out the Xbox ad network. Ad revenue will be shared by the game developer and the adtech company that places the ad, those sources believe.

One of the sources speculated Microsoft isn't currently interested in collecting a cut of ad revenue because it wants to provide more money-making opportunities to developers who make free-to-play games.

Microsoft started talks to build an Xbox in-game ad network around 2018 or 2019, but that process accelerated thanks to the 2020 release of the latest Xbox, and the boom in free-to-play titles, the two sources said.

Microsoft is worried inserting ads into Xbox games could irritate people who don't expect to see ads when playing on consoles, so it's moving cautiously and intends to create a "private marketplace," where only select brands can insert ads into games in a way that doesn't disrupt the gameplay experience, the two sources said.

They also said Microsoft is concerned about securing its customers' data, so other companies can't use it.

While Microsoft has loads of consumer data, collected from searches on Bing and behavior on its sites and software, one of the sources said Microsoft has no immediate plans to let advertisers use that data to target people on Xbox.

"The problem with doing that is there are regulatory controls and privacy releases relevant to each platform and they're not cross-platform compatible," the source said. "If I were to read between the lines, it'd be like a 10-year goal, but that has serious hurdles and Microsoft is really strict about their data."

While Microsoft's ambitions in advertising have waxed and waned over the years, its plans for Xbox underscore its current bullishness. And it comes at a time when in-game advertising is gaining steam. NBCU, for instance, is in the early stages of a partnership with in-game advertising company Anzu.

Industry analyst Eric Seufert said Microsoft's acquisitions of Activision Blizzard (which has an ad network) and adtech platform Xandr, could help Microsoft build a large ad network.

CEO John Higgins of gaming agency OS Studios said that he believes all major gaming companies will eventually create private ad marketplaces. If Microsoft follows through with its plan to launch an in-game ad network, it could take spend that might have gone to competitors like Sony's PlayStation and Amazon's Twitch, he said.
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fantaskarsef · Apr 15, 2022

Heh, them ads are coming.

rflair · Apr 15, 2022

Reading the title I was like WTF but then seeing it is for Free to Play games I can see why.
And then there is the 'realism' thing in bought games, I'm racing around in Forza or Gran Turismo and there are ad's, much like the real world, OK; but then I don't want to play Skyrim and have ad's of any kind.

DocStr4ngelove · Apr 16, 2022

They are walking on a thin line here. May God help them if they ever try to pull this in full price games

TheDeeGee · Apr 16, 2022

Fine for free to play games, they gotta make money somehow. Though the ads should disappear when having spend a certain amount of money.

KissSh0t · Apr 16, 2022

And then the adblocker for video games was invented.

sertopico · Apr 16, 2022

KissSh0t said: ↑

And then the adblocker for video games was invented.
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There's one already. Just don't play them.

DocStr4ngelove · Apr 16, 2022

KissSh0t said: ↑

And then the adblocker for video games was invented.
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Mods will fix it

H83 · Apr 16, 2022

rflair said: ↑

Reading the title I was like WTF but then seeing it is for Free to Play games I can see why.
And then there is the 'realism' thing in bought games, I'm racing around in Forza or Gran Turismo and there are ad's, much like the real world, OK; but then I don't want to play Skyrim and have ad's of any kind.
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I agree that ads in certain games can work, the games who mentioned are perfect examples.

But i hope i don´t start seeing ads in the middle of games like Elden Ring or Halo...

tsunami231 · Apr 16, 2022

they ad it all games at some point and then they real reason to have there game need permanent internet connections

This how it start F2P game then they will added to all games, but like was said if they put in game like say skyrim/elder scroll type games it would be suicide at best for them

DocStr4ngelove · Apr 16, 2022

I fear this might go out of hand at some point too - it's like that frog sitting in water slowly becoming hotter.

0blivious · Apr 16, 2022

It always goes wrong.

They started putting little advertisement patches on MLB umpires last year. (...and they are crypto ads) Next year, the players will wear little patches too. Won't be long until they look like soccer unis (football). So I can be a fan of the Seattle XBox's. Yuck.

emperorsfist · Apr 19, 2022

So it's for F2P games now. How long before the inevitable attempt to put them in full priced ones?

TheDeeGee · Apr 19, 2022

emperorsfist said: ↑

So it's for F2P games now. How long before the inevitable attempt to put them in full priced ones?
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Even if it does come to full priced games, it's gonna backfire like crazy on them. So they will end up removing it again.

emperorsfist · Apr 19, 2022

TheDeeGee said: ↑

Even if it does come to full priced games, it's gonna backfire like crazy on them. So they will end up removing it again.
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I'd like to believe you, but at this point I'm preemptively sceptical..

TheDeeGee · Apr 19, 2022

emperorsfist said: ↑

I'd like to believe you, but at this point I'm preemptively sceptical..
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Hmm, you may be right.

fantaskarsef · Apr 19, 2022

I can't believe how this ended up even in our local Viennese free subway joke of a news paper. Incredible.

Horus-Anhur · Apr 21, 2022

Sony is cooking up plans to run ads in PlayStation games as rival Microsoft plans a similar program with Xbox

Sony is working on a plan to put ads inside PlayStation games, sources said, similar to a move by Microsoft to run ads in Xbox.

Three people who are involved in the plans said Sony is doing testing with adtech partners to help game developers create in-game ads through a software developer program. The idea is to encourage developers to keep building free-to-play games, which have soared in the pandemic, by giving them a way to monetize them, they said.

PlayStation's current ad inventory is limited to in-menu ads like game publishers promoting their own titles in the console's store, the sources said. PlayStation also serves ads on streaming video to people who stream via their consoles through apps like Hulu.

The new effort, expected to launch by end of 2022, would put ads inside PlayStation games themselves, to be sold via a private marketplace, the sources said. The goal is for the ads to appear like they're part of the game, like digital billboards in sports stadiums. Formats could include ads that give viewers rewards for watching ads and promotions for in-game items like avatar skins.

Sony hasn't decided if it would take a cut of the revenue, the sources said; one said it's also considering charging developers and publishers for data on consumer activity on the PlayStation.

Sony didn't respond to requests for comment.
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fantaskarsef · Apr 21, 2022

Horus-Anhur said: ↑

Sony is cooking up plans to run ads in PlayStation games as rival Microsoft plans a similar program with Xbox
Sony is working on a plan to put ads inside PlayStation games, sources said, similar to a move by Microsoft to run ads in Xbox.
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XP-200 · Apr 21, 2022

Oh no, what am i going to do, oh right, i don't play f2p games and neither do i pre-order or buy at launch £60 games, oh well, sucks for those that do i suppose, but if only there was a way for gamers to tell the gaming industry they don't like all their BS. lol

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Microsoft is preparing ads inside Xbox games

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