Google Said to Be Testing In-Game Ads

Posted on July 30, 2008

VentureBeat reports that Google has been quietly testing advertising technology that will allow videos ads to be inserted in games. Google already has huge marketshare in online text and video ads so this sounds like a logical move for online ad behemoth. The VentureBeat store mentions a number of tech companies that already provide in-game ad technology. Google is a little late to the party but Google is big enough that a late entry won't keep from having a huge impact on the industry.

Sources close to the matter said that the company has developed an in-game advertising technology that allows it to insert video ads into games. In demos of the technology, a game character can introduce a video ad, saying something like, "And now, a word from our sponsor," before showing a short video at the end of a sequence in a game. Since testing has been going on for some time, Google could launch the technology fairly quickly, if it so chooses.
But it's not clear why Google hasn't already launched its in-game advertising business, given that the seeds of AdSense for Games were planted in early 2007. Google did not respond to a request for comment this morning. I'll update if that changes.
"I don't know what's taking them so long," said one source close to the matter. "They could move into this market very quickly, given what they have shown off."
If the company enters the market, it should stir up the competition the way it has in other ad markets. Companies such as Double Fusion, IGA Worldwide, Microsoft's Massive, MochiMedia and NeoEdge Networks have been carving out niches with in-game or wrap-around ads for some time.

The first obvious thought is that Google will use the technology with its recently launched Lively virtual world. Lively may just be a stepping stone and testing ground for Google which probably has bigger plans for online gaming and virtual worlds. Virtual worlds and online games are going to have enormous numbers of users and the advertising giants are going to be battling over the marketshare. Users of some of these worlds have enjoyed a long period of ad-free play that probably won't last much longer.