"To complement, not disrupt gameplay": EA will now broadcast ads in games you paid for

"Players come to EA projects daily to play, watch, create content, and connect. This gives brands the opportunity to organically exist in these spaces while maintaining the authenticity of the game worlds."

Electronic Arts announced the launch of the EA Advertising platform, which will allow advertising within the publisher's games through a dynamic real-time ad system. According to the company, new ad integrations should "complement, not disrupt gameplay."

Advertising in video games is not a new phenomenon for the industry. One of the most famous examples in recent years has been the practice of Take-Two Interactive and its sports division 2K, which experimented with ad inserts in the NBA 2K series. EA itself has previously made similar initiatives – for example, in UFC 4.

However, the publisher is now making its most extensive bet on this format. Moreover, the program has already started working. Users of EA Sports FC 26, Madden NFL, and College Football 26 may have noticed in-game ads from brands such as Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, Xfinity, Peacock, and Mountain Dew.

Individual ad integrations have also appeared in other company projects. For example, the skateboarding simulator Skate held events in conjunction with Nike SB, which served as both in-game content and a marketing campaign for the brand.

Currently, the advertising platform is focused on EA Sports games, but the company does not rule out the appearance of similar advertising integrations in projects from the EA Entertainment division.