EA CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed the company is considering putting ads in traditional AAA games — titles that players purchase up-front for around $70 apiece. In the Q&A part ofEA’s latest earnings call, Eric Sheridan from Goldman Sachs asked Wilson about dynamic ad insertion in traditional AAA games. Wilson said, “…Advertising has an opportunity to be a meaningful driver of growth for us.” He then continued, “…we have teams internally in the company right now looking at how we do very thoughtful implementations inside of our game experiences.”
Unfortunately, EA has had a few instances of poor in-game ads. In 2020, the company placed full-screen in-game ads for the TV show The Boys in UFC 4. Its player base poorly received this placement, especially as it disrupted the game. This backlash led to EA removing the ad soon after.
EA’sNeed for Speed: Underground 2from 2004 is famously known for its in-game ads placed on billboards all over the open world. Some would argue that EA did that for realism, as the brands in the game featured real-world companies like Best Buy, Burger King, and Cingular.
But it was in 2006 whenGameSpotconfirmed that EA was going all-in with dynamic ads in its titles, withNeed for Speed CarbonandBattlefield 2142among the first games to try it. In 2008,Burnout Paradise, another popular EA title, featured political ads for then-Senator Barack Obama’s 2008 US Presidential election bid.
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More recently, SCS Software, the company behind theAmerican Truck SimulatorandEuro Truck Simulator 2titles, sold ad space to trucking company Schneider National for hiring drivers. However, most of these in-game ads are placed on billboards by the side of the road, where you would naturally see them in real life.
In-game ads are an understandable side-effect of the free-to-play format. However, it leaves a bad taste, especially if the ads are served in a AAA game you’ve paid good money for upfront. While the development cost of AAA titles has skyrocketed, with titles likeCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,Cyberpunk 2077, andStar Citizencosting hundreds of millions to make, their developers have also sold plenty of copies.
If EA adds dynamic in-game ads in its titles, let’s hope the company sticks to its promise of “thoughtful implementation” and “community building beyond the bounds of our games.” Otherwise, its community might rise in arms and force a change, just like how theuproar over theHelldivers 2PSN account linking forced Sony to reconsider the requirement.
Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.
