Imagine yourself in the middle of the last boss battle, sweating profusely, and just before you deliver the fatal blow, a pop-up advertisement for the newest energy drink appears on your screen. This scenario is a nightmare for gamers and might come to pass if in-game advertising becomes overly invasive. Still, we should not get ahead of our skis. An announcement which really sent the gaming world into chaos was when industry giant Electronic Arts, or EA, was considering placing ads in their AAA games-of course, the same games which often retail for upwards of $70 or more. Although there is some disagreement around this decision, it has the ability to completely change the game industry.
That news came directly from EA CEO Andrew Wilson during an earnings call. When Goldman Sachs’ Eric Sheridan confronted him over the possibility of dynamic ad placement in their AAA games, Wilson did little hedging: “Advertising has an opportunity to be a meaningful driver of growth for us,” he said emphatically. “Teams within the company right now are looking at how we do very thoughtful implementations inside of our game experiences,” he said. Depending on which side of the screen you’re on, this can be both comforting and a little unsettling.
Past practice
In-game advertising is not a novel concept. It began when Adventureland first released its successor in the game in 1978. The arcade game Tapper, which featured the Budweiser logo, was sponsored by Anheuser-Busch in the 1980s. In the 1990s and 2000s, “advergaming” gained popularity as games like Pepsi Man and Zool openly promoted businesses. EA is familiar with this strategy, having incorporated real-world companies into games such as Battlefield 2142 and Need for Speed: Underground 2.
Branding on a virtual billboard simply wouldn’t cut it today. And with new changes coming to the market, advertising strategies likewise change. For example, Schneider National purchased ad space within SCS Software’s American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 to hire drivers. Discreetly placed on billboards along the road, like the real thing, these ads could appear in a real-life scenario. That’s quite a contrast to the full-screen ads that ran for “The Boys” during UFC 4, for instance -which EA pulled in light of player protestations.
It is all about striking the balance between players’ pleasure and revenue. The development of AAA games is overly expensive, where games like Star Citizen and Cyberpunk 2077 have hundreds of millions in budgets. On the other hand, millions of copies get sold for those games, too. The question follows: is it still reasonable to show in-game ads to the players who have paid for them?
Divisions will no doubt exist in the gaming community, with some seeing it as unavoidable for an industry expected to reach as high as $583 billion by 2030. Others, however, view it as betrayal, a rapacious attempt to fleece them of more money after they have already paid a premium. The reactions of gamers have run the gamut from cynical comments, such as “We can sell them the ‘no Ads DLC’ too!” to outright rejection, with one player threatening to “quit gaming immediately” if ads – like YouTube adverts – impede gameplay.
What will EA do?
In this instance, the “thoughtful implementation” that EA promised is crucial. The company has the chance to set a benchmark for managing in-game advertisements. It could enhance the gameplay and open up new revenue streams with relevant, non-intrusive content. If done poorly, it could alienate a loyal fan base and trigger a response like the one that forced Sony to reconsider the connection between Helldivers 2’s PSN accounts.
EA is at a crossroads. Both gamers and businesspeople alike will be very interested in the potential next moves the company may make. Will it give in to the temptation of easy money, no matter how much it costs in reputation, or will it blaze the trail towards a different era in in-game ads, where the player’s benefit comes first? For one thing, it’s certain: the world of gaming will never be the same again. Only time will tell.
Ad placement is one of the myriad places that in-game advertising could have a very bright future; other places are ad type and context. For instance, branded vehicles or billboards created during the integration of ads in the game Need for Speed would add to the realism of the gaming world. It could well be one of those cases where both benefit if the ads improve the immersive experience without taking anything away from the gaming. How to ensure that such advertisement does not interfere with the players’ experience of the game is, however, the challenge.
Timing will be one of the primary areas of focus for EA in these ads. Instead of the misguided ad placement ‘The Boys’ did in UFC 4, which chopped up the action, advertisements moving forward could be placed organically into the gameplay via pauses in action. There could be small time slots during loading screens or interchanges between levels. This way, players can go through the ad content on display without truly feeling that their session of the game has been halted.
Another aspect would be ad personalization. With the huge amount of data at the disposal of game developers, ads for every player could be personalized. At this level of personalization, the ads can get much less intrusive while becoming more relevant. In regard to this aspect, EA would have to be very open about the privacy and data usage concerns it raises to maintain the trust of its player base.
Another avenue could be ‘opt-in’ advertising. This would work by giving in-game benefits or rewards in return for the player watching an advert at their will. If this were done where consideration is taken for the player’s consent and control, it might be adapted for AAA games.
It is community feedback that will shape the future of in-game advertising. From the promise it made to develop “community building beyond the bounds of our games,” it seems like EA actually understands the importance of user input. It will be of utmost importance to speak with the community in regard to their tolerance thresholds for in-game ads. One would do this through questionnaires, beta tests with ads in them, and monitoring the feedback of players that are currently active via social media and gaming forums.
One can’t turn a blind eye to the possible backlash from the gaming community. The Helldivers 2 PSN account connecting problem is one of those examples regarding how the backlash from players may lead to necessary changes. In making sure that there isn’t a Battlefront 2 scandal repetition, which was mainly fueled by the impression of greedy monetizing, will require carefulness on the part of EA. An in-game ad strategy that is open, equitable, and respectful to gamers who have already paid for their AAA games is what the business needs.
With this, the future of in-game advertising for AAA games is a very thoughtful process. This positions EA at a crossroads, where the publishing giant can very well introduce a new era of advertising that perfectly complements gameplay. By being’very careful’, as stated by CEO Andrew Wilson himself, this would position EA to set an industrial benchmark-one that champions the cause of the user experience while seeking newer avenues of growth. The gamer community will be observing with hawklike eyes, opinions ready, and poised to help drive the direction on in-game ads. It is without doubt that decisions we make today will affect how people play games tomorrow.
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EA is looking at putting in-game ads in AAA games — ‘We’ll be very thoughtful as we move into that,’ says CEO
EA is looking at putting in-game ads in AAA games — ‘We’ll be very thoughtful as we move into that,’ says CEO
Opinion – Business – Game Dev – EA is looking at putting in-game ads in AAA games — ‘We’ll be very thoughtful as we move into that,’ says CEO
