Microsoft has filed a new patent that reveals potential Xbox plans to grow its in-game advertising business. A special system would analyze streaming gameplay and identify natural pauses in the game — such as the completion of a level — to display commercials.
Microsoft has filed a new patent that reveals potential Xbox plans to grow its in-game advertising business. A special system would analyze streaming gameplay and identify natural pauses in the game — such as the completion of a level — to display commercials.
For watching ads, players will be offered a reward - a fixed time of gaming session without any interruptions. Experts note that although the presence of a patent does not guarantee its rapid implementation in real products, the document demonstrates the direction of the developers' thoughts, writes Business Insider.
Market experts believe that Xbox is trying to borrow a successful model from mobile games - the so-called "rewarded video" format. In such ads, users choose to watch the video in exchange for bonuses: extra lives, game currency or time.
“They are trying to find solutions that are easiest to implement,” said Vincent Tessier, marketing director at gaming company 52 Entertainment.
This model is also profitable for publishers. According to analysts, the average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) for rewarded formats in the US is about $19.63, which is significantly higher than the rates of traditional interstitial banners or pop-ups.
Xbox is rolling out its advertising strategy very carefully, so as not to cause outrage among the gaming community. Earlier, the company had already begun testing the possibility of free cloud game streaming for Xbox Insiders: for watching two minutes of advertising, users get one hour of cloud play.
Analysts attribute this activity to the corporation's desire to increase business margins amid restructuring. In turn, this opens up new access for advertisers to an engaged audience in front of big screens.
“The average American user may not shop online every day, but there is a very high probability that they play games,” emphasized Ryan Schulke of the marketing company Fluent.
