This forecast, provided by a Technavio report, attributes the market expansion to the rapid growth of the game industry, driven primarily by the popularity of free-to-play online games such as Apex Legends and Fortnite. With the gaming market expected to reach $300 billion by 2025 and encompassing 2.4 billion gamers worldwide, in-game advertising (IGA) is anticipated to flourish.
Partnerships between publishers and advertisers are identified as a key driver for the growth of IGA, facilitating the reach of diverse demographics and geographies. Various formats of IGA, including interstitial ads, video ads, native ads, and non-interruptive ads, are deployed across mobile games, desktop games, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and streaming platforms to engage players. Advertisers utilize customized advertising through formats like billboards, background displays, and cutscenes, ensuring audio-visual impact while avoiding issues such as pop-ups, memory limitations, or limited game support.
The in-game advertising market is segmented by platform (mobile, computing, console), type (static ads, dynamic ads, advergaming), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, Middle East and Africa, South America). In North America, for example, the rising popularity of mobile and desktop gaming in the United States and Canada is expected to drive market expansion. The mobile game industry, supported by high internet penetration rates and increasing internet users, is experiencing significant growth.
Despite the opportunities IGA presents, challenges such as intrusive or irrelevant ads impacting player experience exist. Gamers employ ad-blocking solutions to mitigate these issues. Overall, the in-game advertising market continues to evolve, offering advertisers an effective means to connect with consumers in the dynamic landscape of video games and mobile games.
