Free-to-play games largely operate on the same business model: you can play for free, but there are tons of options for spending your money on cosmetics and other in-game content. Think Fortnite’s Battle Pass and its many skins. It seems Sony is searching for new ways to monetize free-to-play games, however.
Business Insider reports that Sony is looking to run ads in its free-to-play titles. BI’s sources say that “Sony is doing testing with adtech partners to help game developers create in-game ads through a software developer program.” Free-to-play games boomed during the pandemic, and Sony wants to encourage more studios to make them — and make money through ads. BI previously reported a similar ad program in the works at Microsoft. We don’t know if both companies have tapped the same adtech groups to work on their respective programs, but with two powerhouses looking into the same advertising scheme, ads in free-to-play titles seem inevitable.
In terms of how this scheme would work, BI’s sources at Microsoft gave examples like a racing game with billboards along the track, advertising a product as you drive by. Branded character skins and waiting lobby videos were mentioned by BI, but its sources could not confirm those. In Microsoft’s case, the new ad program could be ready by Q3 2022, and the window at Sony is likely very similar.
