Advertising overload: Difference between revisions

While not on par with its Mobile gaming counterpart<!-- Referencing a later section like this is mildly confusing, this should be rephrased or article rearranged. -->, traditional video games have also been experiencing this heavy increase in advertising. This has especially been seen and documented from titles such as [[Call of Duty]] and [[Fortnite]]. The home screen and launch screen experience for these games often aim to direct players toward the storefront, encouraging them to purchase the products that are being promoted that day.<ref>{{Cite news |last=u/Character-Acrobatic |date=Jun 16, 2024 |title=Stop advertising inside the game |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernWarfareIII/comments/1dgvt12/stop_advertising_inside_the_game/ |access-date=Mar 15, 2025 |work=reddit |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250118135659/https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernWarfareIII/comments/1dgvt12/stop_advertising_inside_the_game/ |archive-date=18 Jan 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Makuch |first=Eddie |date=Nov 3, 2023 |title=Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Has A Full-Screen Ad That Some People Don't Like |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-has-a-full-screen-ad-that-some-people-dont-like/1100-6518890/ |access-date=Mar 15, 2025 |work=Gamespot |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260211104346/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-has-a-full-screen-ad-that-some-people-dont-like/1100-6518890/ |archive-date=11 Feb 2026}}</ref> Additionally, killcams in Call of Duty have seen ads as well.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aguilar |first=Jorge A. |date=Feb 25, 2025 |title=Call of Duty Brings Advertisements to Player Killcams |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/call-of-duty-advertisements-player-killcams/ |access-date=Mar 15, 2025 |work=How to Geek |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260207081717/https://www.howtogeek.com/call-of-duty-advertisements-player-killcams/ |archive-date=7 Feb 2026}}</ref> <!-- For the advertising pile whenever we get a dedicated COD page:

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[[Activision Blizzard]] has a dedicated advertising division for companies to advertise their products inside their games.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Powering brand connections in gaming |url=https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en/solutions/technology/gaming-solutions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260103021919/https://www.activisionblizzardmedia.com/ |archive-date=2026-01-03 |website=[[Microsoft Advertising]]}}</ref> [[Epic Games, Inc.|Epic Games]] has done a similar thing.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Joey |date=24 Jul 2024 |title=Fortnite Ads |url=https://gomediashark.com/fortnite-ads/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Media Shark]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260215212419/https://gomediashark.com/fortnite-ads/ |archive-date=15 Feb 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lattin |first=Pesach |date=27 Jan 2023 |title=Fortnite In-Game Advertising. How does it Work? |url=https://www.adotat.com/2023/01/fortnite-in-game-advertising-how-does-it-work/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[aDOtat]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251017164045/https://www.adotat.com/2023/01/fortnite-in-game-advertising-how-does-it-work/ |archive-date=17 Oct 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Byrd |first=Matthew |date=Dec 2, 2020 |title=How Fortnite Became Gaming’s Great Shameless Marketing Tool |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/games/fortnite-marketing-tool-epic-games-events-star-wars-marvel/ |access-date=Mar 15, 2025 |work=Den of Geek |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251215013514/https://www.denofgeek.com/games/fortnite-marketing-tool-epic-games-events-star-wars-marvel/ |archive-date=15 Dec 2025}}</ref> It is expected that legitimate ads may be progressively more pervasive within the media that users pay for.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Olivia |date=11 Oct 2023 |title=In-Game Advertising: How it Works and Why it Works |url=https://abiosgaming.com/press/in-game-adverting-fortnite/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Abios]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251205150742/https://abiosgaming.com/press/in-game-adverting-fortnite/ |archive-date=5 Dec 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 Mar 2025 |title=In-game advertising |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-game_advertising |url-status=live |website=[[Wikipedia]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251201201031/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-game_advertising |archive-date=1 Dec 2025}}</ref> Advertising agencies in general are also trying to integrate billboard ads for legitimate products inside games, such as Trackmania.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vargas |first=Anthony |date=2 Mar 2022 |title=NBCU Adds In-Game Ads To Its Sales Roster Through Partnership With Anzu |url=https://www.adexchanger.com/gaming/nbcu-adds-in-game-ads-to-its-sales-roster-through-partnership-with-anzu/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Ad Exchanger]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251114020308/https://www.adexchanger.com/gaming/nbcu-adds-in-game-ads-to-its-sales-roster-through-partnership-with-anzu/ |archive-date=14 Nov 2025}}</ref>

Some platforms have gone so far as to send users notifications explicitly promoting these new products available for purchase within the game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Huzaifa |date=24 Nov 2023 |title=Ubisoft Cites “Technical Error” For Recent In-Game Pop-Up Fiasco |url=https://exputer.com/news/games/ubisoft-technical-error-in-game-ad/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Exputer]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251206085537/https://exputer.com/news/games/ubisoft-technical-error-in-game-ad/ |archive-date=6 Dec 2025}}</ref> Most have kept these notifications in-game,<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to get rid of GTA Online ads on loading screens |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/GrandTheftAutoV/comments/l3xthb/how_to_get_rid_of_gta_online_ads_on_loading/ |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Reddit]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210127195925/https://www.reddit.com/r/GrandTheftAutoV/comments/l3xthb/how_to_get_rid_of_gta_online_ads_on_loading/ |archive-date=27 Jan 2021}}</ref><!-- There isn't a whole lot of documentation on everything advertised in GTAO, but when I used to play it, I remembered it often trying to encourage me to buy Shark Cards. --> but some have been reported to leave notification pop-ups directly on users' devices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 Mar 2023 |title=Why am I constantly having game app ads popping up even when I'm not playing games? |url=https://support.google.com/googleplay/thread/204580579/why-am-i-constantly-having-game-app-ads-popping-up-even-when-i-m-not-playing-games?hl=en |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Google Play Help]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250115063953/https://support.google.com/googleplay/thread/204580579/why-am-i-constantly-having-game-app-ads-popping-up-even-when-i-m-not-playing-games?hl=en |archive-date=15 Jan 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 Oct 2023 |title=Game ads keep popping up every 15-30 seconds! |url=https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000CLnjCLSQZ/game-ads-keep-popping-up-every-1530-seconds |url-status=live |access-date=15 Mar 2025 |website=[[Amazon Forum]] |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250708174714/https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000CLnjCLSQZ/game-ads-keep-popping-up-every-1530-seconds |archive-date=8 Jul 2025}}</ref> It is entirely plausible that these marketplace advertisements will increase in popularity from publishers as time goes on. <gallery>

File:Example of in-game ads.jpg|Cod MW3 - Ad in-game marketing the premium version