Television-style advertisements could be coming to console and PC games courtesy of a TV ad tech company named Simulmedia. As reported by Axios, Simulmedia has launched a new in-game advertising platform called playerWON that allows marketers to entice gamers and other younger demographics by running TV spots in video games. These advertisements will reportedly comprise 15- or 30-second video ads that can be viewed in exchange for unlocking exclusive gaming perks. Simulmedia has already struck deals with two of the world’s biggest gaming companies, Electronic Arts and Tencent.
Using Simulmedia’s technology, developers can code those ads into their games. They then can decide which rewards to provide to gamers in exchange for them to agree to watch an ad. Through its ad server, Simulmedia is able to see whether an ad is completed. It then sends a notification that you can release rewards to the player. Rewards can vary from in-game currency to skins (costumes) for gaming avatars.