TV-style ads will invade video games

This story about putting TV-like ads in games, boiled down, in 1:17 minutes.

What's the fuss?

A platform will bring video advertisements into video games, having already signed deals with high profile studios. Gamers may not take to this lightly.

The situation

Traditional advertisements first made their way into video games in the early 1980s, corresponding with the boom of game consoles and slot machines. 

• Those days, it wasn't uncommon to see brand placements in games, even going so far as having fully-branded games such as 1993's McDonald's Treasure Land Adventures. 
• Implementation of advertising in video games has accelerated since then, mostly in free-to-play mobile games.

A new advertising platform will accelerate this further by allowing companies to include TV-like video ads in their PC and console games. 

• By giving the option for players to watch these ads, in exchange they will be rewarded with in-game items.
• Companies are always looking for ways to monetize free-to-play games, especially when only 10% of free-to-play gamers actually purchase microtransactions.

Boiling it down

On surface level, people dislike advertisements, and thus many developers have been hesitant to implement in-game advertising. 

• Further research indicates that the annoyance of implemented ads in games is short lived, as 73% of free-to-play gamers are understanding of the ad-funded experience.

Nonetheless, gamers are less understanding when publishers are too gung-ho with this monetization strategy. 

• Large publishers have tried to implement ads in fully-priced games, resulting in massive backlash.
• It's extremely important that publishers are careful with ad implementation, else they risk customer churn.

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