Sony exploring advertising in PlayStation games - report
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Sony (NYSE:SONY) is looking to sell advertising in games on its iconic PlayStation platform, Business Insider says - a move that seems to echo a similar effort at rival Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Xbox unit.
Sony is reportedly doing testing with ad-tech partners to see about placing in-game ads through a software developer program - which could help feed the free-to-play game boom that accelerated in the COVID-19 pandemic.
That could create a private marketplace for ads that could appear as part of the game, such as a billboard in an online sports stadium, and even include a reward system for consuming ads, according to the report.
Mobile game players are more accustomed to advertising-supported games, but PlayStation's current ad load is limited to in-menu ads such as publisher promotions in the PlayStation store.
Microsoft's Xbox in-game ad capability is reportedly expected to arrive in the third quarter.
Neither Sony nor Microsoft seem too interested in pulling a cut of ad revenue, and there are open questions about whether such ads would offer the same performance tracking as in other media. Sony is being strict about vetting its ad-tech partners and ruling out collecting personal information such as names or email addresses, BI says.
Sony is planning a revamped subscription service for the PlayStation to arrive in June.