Sony reportedly considering in-game ads for free-to-play titles

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I mean, if you aren’t making all the money, are you really making any money? Fresh off of the uncomfortable news that Microsoft is considering selling advertising in free-to-play Xbox titles, a new report from Business Insider suggests that PlayStation magnate Sony might be exploring the same avenues with in-game ads.

The paywalled feature, which cites a team of Sony insiders as its sources, suggests that Sony has been looking at new ways to monetize free-to-play titles, which have sky-rocketed in popularity since the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced communities to seek engaging entertainment within their own homes. While F2P games are already mired in controversy due to their compulsive nature and pricey microtransactions, it seems that studios are considering in-game ads as a new way to harness money-making.

The ideas allegedly pitched by Sony include advertising the menus and loading screens of games, integrating adverts into video game worlds — such as through billboards and signposts — and even rewarding players who sit through the commercials with exclusive in-game rewards. While the Business Insider report claims that Sony is against the collecting of identity details (such as names and emails) for sale, it may use player purchase behavior to help developers influence its ad-making decisions.

It was Business Insider that also leaked the alleged news that Microsoft was looking to implement similar monetization in its own titles, and while the argument will be made that games that are free-to-play need paying for somehow, there are two major points of contention. The first is that a lot of these titles are already making hand-over-fist in regards to revenue. Hell, that’s why the F2P market is so overcrowded in the first place.

The second point is more sinister, in that should the in-game advertising prove successful, there is a slew of publishers out there that would have absolutely no fear in stealthily increasing its presence in fully paid releases. It’s safe to speculate that Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros. Interactive, and Activision would welcome the opportunity with open arms. EA even tried it once, before backing off, tail between its legs, following backlash.

But, if there’s money to make, it’s likely that studios will try for the normalization of in-game ads again, and again, and again, in the hope that — one day — it finally takes.