Soon commercials in video games?

PlayerWON, part of advertising firm Simulmedia, could turn the gaming world upside down thanks to an integrated advertising system. The company has also already signed with studios such as Electronic Arts and Hi-Rez Studios to test this system in a dozen video games. It has also already been integrated into the game. Hurt available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Good or bad idea, in-game ads are split

This news is reminiscent of Facebook’s announcement about ads on its Oculus Quest devices. The company has revealed that the announcements will be integrated into certain VR games and apps, for a more global rollout in the coming months. While the ad is currently being tested on Oculus devices, the news has not been unanimous and has been heavily criticized by VR headset users.

It is also good to remember that one branch of the video game sector is already heavily affected by advertising and that is mobile games. The vast majority, if not all, of free mobile games use an ad funding model, either in the form of pop-ups or videos to watch.

An intrusive but rewarded concept

It is also on this model that the PlayerWON system is based. Console players will soon be able to watch short commercials that last between 15 and 30 seconds that will allow them to access rewards in the game, such as virtual money, energy or even avatars and outfits. If this could make any sense in free games, which already have an economic model dependent on microtransactions, one wonders what legitimacy there would be to implement advertising in a paid game.

If consoles have been able to escape ads for several years, it seems that this is likely to change, even if we can notice a consequent apprehension. In fact, 22% of Smite players said they were ready to buy a game with ads, leaving us with 78% skeptics and people against the concept. Furthermore, only 11% of the players “ would agree to pay for access to rewards if they see ads that also grant them rewards ».