It’s the end of the month, and your wallet’s empty? Free-to-play games to the rescue! Such titles always let us dive into their hypnotic world without putting a dent in our savings, but it also gives birth to a question: How do the makers of free-to-play games earn?
The answer to this query is that since these titles do not charge a penny, developers rely on enthusiasts splurging cash on extra skins, weapons, or characters to expand their IP further. But now, such game makers could potentially have a new source of earning revenue if recent reports are to be believed.
As per Business Insider, Sony is considering putting ads in its free-to-play games. This means that all those developers who create free titles for Sony’s gaming platforms will now be offered advertising revenue as incentivization to continue their work.
Sony’s ad inventory is currently restricted to menu screens, which devs and publishers use to promote their own games. However, Sony now wants to take this further by incorporating adverts that appear “like they’re part of the game, like digital billboards in sports stadiums.”
On top of this, it is said that some ads would look to incentivize players who watch them till the very end by distributing in-game rewards such as character cosmetics.
Business Insider further reported that Sony began the process of implementing ads into free-to-play titles 18 months ago and aims to finalize its work by the end of this year.
It is also being said that Sony is in touch with ad tech partners to discuss the move and is being stringent about which companies it wants to join hands with.
According to sources, collecting personal information such as emails and names is out of the question, but there is a chance that the Japanese MNC is considering selling consumer activity data to developers and publishers. At the time of writing, it also remains to be seen if Sony will take a cut from advertisement revenue.
While this initiative of incentivizing devs will encourage them to make more free-to-play titles, it could also give rise to some severe backlash from fans. So, everyone’s beloved gaming powerhouse must proceed with caution, or it could fall prey to a tarnished image.
About Sony
Sony Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo. The company operates as one of the most comprehensive media companies on the planet and also holds the distinctions of being the largest video game console company and the second largest video game publisher in the world.
Its gaming and network services arm Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment) is best known for producing the popular line of PlayStation consoles.
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