EA, the plucky young publisher/developer forever hunting new ways to make money, will now be integrating ads into its games. The publisher already does this with their sports games by way of having adverts placed onto the sidelines of their sports games, but will not tie this into actual gameplay.
In a report from CNBC's Assiatou Hann, Electronic Arts will be launching a new way to introduce advertising into games by launching EA Advertising. This initiative will allow EA to integrate advertisements through custom in-game content and various stadium signage in sports game. Think new live-service content or ad placements on stadiums like Gillette Stadium in Madden or custom DLC gameplay with branding from other companies built directly into the game.
In a press release announced by Electronic Arts on Monday, the idea is to "enhance, not disrupt, the player experience". The type of gameplay integrations will sound familiar to most game players out there, where brands can launch their ad campaigns through "in-game challenges, reward-driven objectives", and branded content.
Gamers around the world will either be forced to put their controller down when they have to view these ads, or deal with the brunt of new products being launched into their faces when they are just trying to play their game. This comes at a time when XBOX CEO Asha Sharma recently stated that XBOX will need to face "hard truths" about its business model and how it approaches game development moving forward. Industry insiders are expecting XBOX to include these same types of ads when it comes to how they will need to change with the times.
In addition to this, EA has launched a new partner program within the EA Sports area of their business. The move is built around building fan experiences and will allow brands to participate in sports-culture and "moving beyond traditional sponsorships". Several partners are already signed up through this initiative, such as:
- Visa, a proud partner of EA SPORTS FC™ and EA SPORTS™ College Football, is partnering with EA SPORTS to deliver immersive, participatory experiences in and beyond the game, connecting its global network with a community of hundreds of millions of players.
- Lowe’s, which integrated into EA SPORTS FC, Madden NFL, and College Football through Ultimate Team challenges and branded player content, driving more than 987,000 games played and more than 200,000 challenges completed.
- Red Bull engaged EA SPORTS FC players through branded in-game objectives, team kits, and athlete ambassador collaborations, driving more than 128 million matches played, 1.2 million objectives completed, and strong in-game and social engagement.
- Xfinity and Peacock, which activated through dynamic in-stadium and broadcast-style integrations, custom vanity kits, Ultimate Team Packs, and personalized rewards through the Rewards program, in EA SPORTS FC 26, bringing the energy of live sports media into gameplay.
- Mountain Dew’s “DEW University,” a fully playable team experience in EA SPORTS College Football 26, complete with a custom stadium, mascot, and reward ecosystem.
It remains to be seen how and which games will be covered within EA's new advertising platform. The more likely candidate to begin with will be Madden 27, but suffice it to say that many people will not be too thrilled with the idea of having even more ads being shoved into their faces when they just want to escape the realities of day-to-day advertising.