Acclaim Signs Massive In-Game Ads Deal News
Jon Wilcox
21/03/2006
The phoenix-like company signs a deal to bring in-game advertising to its portfolio of titles...
Following news at the end of February that Howard Marks' Acclaim Games would be bringing the free MMO B.O.T.S. to Europe and North America in 2006, the re-born company has today announced a deal with Massive Inc. to bring in-game advertising to its gamers.
Acclaim Games has gone out of its way to establish a new business model based on providing free MMO titles adapted from East Asia to Western markets, leaving revenues to emerge from a range of sources, including in-game ads. The deal with Massive Inc., which has already provided ads in a range of titles including Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory on PC, sees Acclaim buy into an area of revenue expected to grow to around $2.5 billion by the end of the decade, at least according to Massive Inc.
Of course in-game ads does mean that a responsibility to bring targeted advertising that doesn't destroy the immersion of the game (Wrigley's chewing gum in a certain Sam fisher adventure, anyone?) is an absolute requirement, but so far there have been many cases where the integration of real-world brands actually help with the realism and experience.
Closed Beta Tests are to begin on Acclaim Games' first title, B.O.T.S. within the next few weeks; we'll have more news shortly...