Free-to-play games for Xbox Series X/S may soon be advertised

Those who play free-to-play games on the Xbox Series X/S may see ads soon. According to a report, the Redmond-based company plans to integrate ads into free-to-play titles. The revenue must flow to the developers and publishers. According to Business Insider, no revenue from the ads goes to Microsoft itself. The Redmond company only wants to create an incentive for development studios to develop free games for the Xbox.

Also, the advertising banners should not significantly disrupt gameplay. For example, in the case of racing games, it would be conceivable that the advertisements would be placed on some existing trackside billboards.

No personalized ads planned

To ensure that inappropriate or annoying ads don’t appear in the game, Microsoft wants to offer the ad space only to certain companies that are classified as reputable. In addition, no user data is used for advertising. The Redmond company also does not want access to information collected through Bing or other Microsoft services. This of course ensures that there are no personalized advertisements.

The first ads could come in the fall

The first commercials could appear in some free-to-play titles in the third quarter of the year. Microsoft has not yet made a statement on the subject, so exact timing is not yet available. In response to the report, the Redmond company only emphasized that they are always looking for ways to “improve the experience for players and developers” and would not comment further at this time.