The increasing price of games and consoles is creating a barrier for the everyday gamer – advertising can help lower the cost of access

Virginie Chesnais is CMO at the ad tech analytics platform Happydemics.

Gamers have long been wary of in-game adverts, and not without reason. Ads in gaming have a mixed reputation, with redirects to different websites or apps, deceptive content, or impossible-to-find close buttons all being common frustrations.

A recent eMarketers study found that 52% of gamers would quit playing if they encountered multiple disruptive ad features. Losing half your audience at the point of engaging them isn't a great strategy.

But ads don't have to be bad. Indeed, the same survey claimed that one in five gamers would play a title more frequently if in-game ads were of high quality.

So, with Xbox currently testing out its new ad-supported game streaming service and the cost of playing steadily increasing, high-quality ads may well find a happy home in gaming.

The case for providing some form of ads-for-games-type deal is more attractive than some may think, having been at least partially proven by linear media. As Netflix, Disney, and other streaming services have shown, there is money to be made by providing a consistent service while also offering ad-supported tiers. If Xbox's approach proves successful, it will not only retain paid customers through its subscription service, but it will also unlock a brand new, previously untapped revenue stream at a time when the brand sorely needs it .

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