In-game advertising is paid advertising inside video games the advertiser does not own: a billboard beside a race track, a video screen in a Roblox world, a clip you watch for an extra life. Brands rent the attention of people already playing instead of building a game of their own.
How it works
You meet it in three places. The first is the game world: posters, hoardings and screens. Static ads are fixed when the game is made; dynamic ones arrive over the internet, so they can change after launch and vary by time and place (Wikipedia). In 2008 Barack Obama's campaign paid the network Massive $44,465.78 for ads in a reported 18 games, Burnout Paradise among them, across 10 battleground states (Game Developer).
The second is the pause between play: full-screen interstitials at level breaks (IAB), and rewarded ads a player chooses to watch for an extra life or in-game currency (Google AdMob). The third is integration: the brand becomes an item, a vehicle, a character or a mode. The first two are bought as media; the third is where this library's games sit.
Where brands use it
Billboards look most natural in racing and sports games, where real tracks and stadiums carry them too. Roblox sells its own units, which it calls "immersive ads": image and video billboards, and portals that teleport players into the advertiser's experience (Roblox). Our guide to brands on Roblox sets buying these against building a game there.
The library holds 129 projects built inside other platforms. Mobil 1 put its name on a Forza Motorsport track for a monthly rivals event, Call of Duty ran Squid Game modes under licence from Netflix (see licensed game), and McLaren Racing put its MCLFF racer and P1 road car into Garena's Free Fire as drivable cars for Ace The Field. Most come from food and drink and entertainment brands; see brands inside other games.
When it fits
Buy it when the goal is reach among people who play, within weeks, and the creative already exists. Nothing is built: the publisher brings the audience and you pay for impressions. Flights can be short; Obama's was booked for four weeks. Roblox sells rewarded video programmatically through Google or by direct order, and says early tests averaged over 80% completion (Roblox).
Measure it like outdoor media. Under 2022 IAB and Media Rating Council guidelines, an in-game display ad is viewable when at least half of it is on screen for one continuous second and its visible part covers at least 1.5% of the screen (IAB). Plan for brand lift, not clicks: Roblox's image billboards cannot be clicked.
When not to use it
Skip it when you need people to spend real time with the product. A billboard counts after a second; a branded game, a Roblox experience or a Fortnite island is measured in minutes. If app installs are the job, use a playable ad. If you need sign-ups, a prize draw or player data, build a game you own: rented space rarely gives you the entry form.
Read the platform's rules first. In May 2023 the US Children's Advertising Review Unit found Roblox had not adequately disclosed ads to children; Roblox said it would stop advertising to under-13s from 15 June 2023 (BBB National Programs). Nintendo's November 2020 guidelines bar businesses from using Animal Crossing to send players to coupons, sweepstakes or sales pages without written permission (Nintendo).
Examples from the library
None of these is a pure ad buy: each brand made something to play inside a game it did not own.
Wasteland With A V — V Energy Drink (2018)
Agency: TKT Sydney · Platform: Fallout 4 mod, PC and Xbox One
Instead of buying space, V Energy had TKT Sydney build a free Fallout 4 mod with Bethesda's Creation Kit. Out in the wasteland players found vending machines stocked with cans of V, labelled "Property of Shameless Product Placement Inc." A can gave the character a short boost and led into a questline of over three hours, with new weapons and a V-branded suit of power armour.
Result: In its first week the mod had a five-star rating on Xbox One from more than 70 reviews, 100,000 views, 20,000 installs and a total reach of over 1 million, according to B&T.
Ally Island — Ally Bank (2020)
Agency: Anomaly, Monks · Platform: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Ally, a bank with no branches, built a theme park in Nintendo's life sim without a formal partnership. Visitors with an entry code flew in eight at a time, posed by a mini headquarters, tried a golf course and a NASCAR-themed race track, and chatted with real Ally employees. The draw was the turnip stand, which paid 1,000 bells a turnip; staff had spent weeks collecting bells in the game to cover it.
Result: The landing page drew 125,000 visitors, and streamer KangGaming's launch stream was the eighth most-watched on Twitch that evening, reported American Banker. Account openings rose by more than 300%, according to an ANA case summary.
Rescue Squad — Jeep (2025)
Agency: Publicis · Platform: GTA
Stuck in mud or stranded off-road in GTA, you typed a rescue command in chat or pressed F4. A convoy of Jeep Rescue Squad vehicles, driven live by one of 13 Saudi streamers, came to tow you out on stream; off-air, an always-on server answered. In-game billboards and radio spots promoted the squad, and an in-game Jeep showroom invited players to book a real test drive.
Result: 155,000 live-stream views and 327 live rescues. Against the pre-campaign period, test-drive bookings rose 9.6% in October and 34.9% in November, and sales rose 41%, according to its Drum Awards case study (The Drum).
FAQ
Is in-game advertising the same as an advergame?
No. In-game advertising rents space in a game someone else owns. An advergame is a game the brand commissions and owns: it controls the mechanic, the reward and the data, but must find its own players. IAB's measurement guidelines draw the same line. Our comparison guide sets six formats side by side.
What is intrinsic in-game advertising?
Ads that sit inside the game world during play, such as a trackside hoarding or a stadium screen. IAB uses the term for placements that appear within gameplay and are served by an ad server. Its 2022 guidelines with the Media Rating Council cover these and leave out interstitials, banners and in-stream video, which follow other standards, as well as branding hard-coded into the game (IAB).
Can players turn off in-game ads?
Sometimes. Rewarded ads play only when a player opts in (Google AdMob). Some players pay for ad-free versions or strip ads out through exploits (Wikipedia), and Roblox shows ineligible players a fallback image instead (Roblox). So give people a reason to choose the ad: a reward, a useful item, something fun to do.