The indiscretion comes from Business Insider, which had already anticipated a few days ago the Microsoft plans to introduce ads in the free-to-play games of the Xbox ecosystem on consoles, computers and smartphones. The peculiarity of this move is that the integration of advertisements would be camouflaged in the games - for example with real billboards within the various virtual worlds - and not with banners or annoying videos to interrupt the gameplay. Furthermore, according to the sources defined as reliable, Microsoft has no intention of retaining any percentage of the revenues, thus leaving developers the possibility of monetizing on a game released for free, with only extra paid in-game content. Examples of the most famous free-to-play games are the popular Fortnite, Rocket League, Apex Legends or the recent eFootball 2022.
Sony rumors follow the same line with ads present virtually in games, as well as skins or special collectible content for a fee: advertisers would have the opportunity to purchase promotional spaces within a sort of marketplace dedicated. An understandable move to increase revenues in support of developers without asking the players for anything, so that they would not even be forced to put up with annoying and invasive ads. The rumors reported by Business Insider also report another possible revenue route for Sony, less pleasant for players, namely the possibility of selling data on user activities, without sharing personal references such as emails or names. All that remains is to wait for the two projects to become official, which could arrive in the next few months.