Microsoft Plans To Place Third-Party Ads In Its Free-To-Play Xbox Games

Microsoft is looking to earn a few extra bucks in its free-to-play titles aside from what they’re already getting from microtransactions. The tech giant is reportedly looking into placing ads in some of its Xbox games to generate additional revenue.

According to GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft plans to create a private marketplace where selected brands and companies can purchase ad space for their products. These ads, however, won’t be as obtrusive as those on YouTube or Facebook and will be carefully selected and placed to avoid ruining the overall gameplay experience. A perfect example would be billboards in free-to-play racing games like what they did for Barrack Obama back in 2008.

Revenue from the ads will initially go solely to the games’ developers with Microsoft planning to take a cut a little ways down the road.

Microsoft had previously ventured into in-game advertising when they acquired the ad firm Massive Inc. back in 2006. Massive handled the Obama ads during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign which were placed in billboards in the Xbox 360 version of Burnout Paradise. The venture, however, didn’t pan out as the company hoped and was shut down in 2010.