TV-like Ads Coming Soon to PC and Console Games
Electronic Arts, Hi-Rez Studios and other publishers will be able to display advertising spots in their games. All thanks to the playerWON platform from Simulmedia.
Although mobile games have long ceased to be simple budget productions, many players still dismiss them due to, among other things, intrusive microtransactions and ads. Unfortunately, the former are also present on desktop platforms, and the latter... may soon join them. All thanks to the playerWON platform, which will allow for displaying ad like in television when we are playing on consoles and PCs.
As reported by Axios, playerWON is a project by Simulmedia, which, after nearly a year of testing, is ready to make its solution available to publishers. Ads streamed from the platform's servers will also enable the devs - like on smartphones - to reward viewers for watching them, whether with virtual coins (no, not crypto... at least not yet) or cosmetic items. According to Simulmedia researchers, during testing, players were willing to watch "up to ten ads per day to unlock free items."
Simulmedia cites two benefits of using playerWON. Clearly, the platform enables advertisers to reach a wider audience who may not use other media very often. Moreover, the company assures that it is much cheaper than displaying an ad on TV or even on some streaming services.
Of course, the question remains whether any publisher will decide to use such a solution. However - to the surprise of no one - the answer is a firm and resounding "yes". Simulmedia has already signed agreements with several companies, including Electronic Arts and Tencent's Hi-Rez Studios. The latter has already had the opportunity to test playerWON in action, because the platform was tested, among others, in Smite developed by this team. Probably Simulmedia's project will find further interest, especially among the creators of free-to-play games.
