XBOX CSO Clarifies Stance on In-Game Advertising

XBOX Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball has clarified his stance on in-game advertising and his recent comments regarding the ad-supported approach adopted by Netflix and other streamers in the entertainment industry.

The streaming world of Netflix, Disney+, and other heavy hitters once offered a more premium vision of television without commercials and with full autonomy over what you watch and when. While the on-demand aspect remains the primary driver of streaming’s upside, many platforms now offer an ad-supported tier that serves as an entry point for consumers who prefer to pay less.

The largest gaming platform to adopt a subscription model is Xbox Game Pass. Recently, Ball mentioned that he believes the potential for advertising in gaming could help offset rising game development costs without raising hardware or software prices or resorting to a microtransaction model.

XBOX Exec Matthew Ball Explains His Stance on Ads in Video Games

During a recent interview with Christopher Dring of The Game Business, Matthew Ball pointed to the TV streaming world as the best example of how an ad-supported experience offers alternatives without taking away from those who want the ad-free experience

“I think the best evidence comes from the [TV] streaming space. In excess of 100% of net adds in the United States for years and years have been on the ad-supported tier. That has not excluded anyone from ad-free experiences. Those products are still there. They’re still popular,” he said.

“I don’t have anything to report on Microsoft’s plans. I’ve frankly not read into them despite my interest in the category. But it is coming from that perspective of how do we reach more people? How do we keep our products affordable?”

When clarifying a tweet about his remarks claiming XBOX was considering ad-supported gaming, he noted he did not say that, but he personally believes that interrupting the gameplay experience with ads would be a bad move.

Ball also recently commented on the future of Project Helix and how XBOX is reevaluating its approach to the next generation of gaming. Read those comments here.

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