The video game company Electronic Arts is currently considering placing advertisements in their games in the future. This could help the company grow even further, the CEO of EA stated at a conference.
What does EA plan? Electronic Arts is one of the largest companies in the video game sector. The company is responsible for major franchises like Battlefield, Mass Effect, and especially multiple sports games like UFC or of course FC24.
However, EA is focused on continuing to grow. This could be achieved by placing advertisements in the games. It is a controversial consideration that has previously caused dissatisfaction among players. For this reason, the CEO of EA is currently being cautious about specific details.
Here you can see the trailer for one of EA’s flagship titles – FC24:
Using Advertising “Thoughtfully”
What does the CEO say? Andrew Wilson is the head of EA and spoke in a company conference call on May 7, 2024, about various topics. Among other things, about the next Battlefield, but also about ad placements.
When asked if there would be advertisements in EA games in the future, Wilson replied:
I think it’s still early on this front. And throughout our history, we have always been careful to deploy advertising very thoughtfully in the context of our player experiences.
Andrew Wilson via kotaku.com
Nevertheless, there is a very large number of players who invest countless hours into the games. If advertising were part of the player experience, it could become a “significant growth engine.”
Internal teams at EA are already working on the feasibility of the idea. The question arises as to how exactly advertisements can be implemented in games. And how the community can be involved. After all, players are expected to react positively to the advertising.
Can this work? How exactly advertising will find its way into the games is still unclear. Attempts from the past show, however, that the community reacts very poorly when the player experience is disrupted by advertising.
EA itself had already experimented with advertisements in 2020. In UFC 4, advertisements for the series “The Boys” appeared during fights. After negative feedback, EA removed this advertisement.
Presumably, they want to come up with a more elegant and thoughtful way to incorporate advertising into games in the future.
It remains to be seen whether players are willing to accept this in the long term. Or whether it remains a no-go to see additional advertisements in a product for which money has already been spent. In 2023, advertisements were briefly seen in Ubisoft games – the community was very upset about it.
