EA Sports FC, Madden NFL Publisher Unveils EA Advertising Platform

EA has made a new announcement today, but it's not about a fresh Battlefield or Titanfall game. Instead, the publishing giant has introduced EA Advertising — a platform designed to integrate brands directly into its popular sports titles like Madden NFL and EA Sports FC.

EA stated that its massive audience of over 120 million monthly players provides an ideal environment for companies to advertise at scale through "dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content, designed to enhance, not disrupt, the player experience."

Brands could offer sponsored in-game challenges with branded cosmetic items as rewards, EA suggested. Alternatively, companies could pay to sponsor on-pitch digital advertising boards, scoreboards, or broadcast overlays — mirroring real-life sporting events plastered with commercial sponsors.

Within its games, EA says it now offers a proprietary ad server and SDK (software development kit) tied to its in-house Frostbite engine, allowing advertisers to "improve targeting and gain deeper campaign insights."

"Brands can activate across live environments, tailoring placements to meet campaign objectives, and update campaigns with ongoing optimization informed by aggregated engagement insights," EA continued.

To be clear, the EA Advertising push seems focused on the company's sports games for now — though there's nothing to prevent similar activity from eventually extending to other titles, such as the hugely successful The Sims, which recently featured a crossover with Netflix's Bridgerton, or other EA games.

Companies already partnered with EA Advertising include Visa, Lowe's, Red Bull, Mountain Dew, Xfinity, and Peacock — all of which have previously featured sponsored content within EA Sports games.

In-game advertising has become a hot topic lately, as gaming companies look to boost revenues amid tighter margins. Newly hired Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball recently suggested that advertising could be added to Xbox Game Pass subscriptions to offer them at a lower price point.

"Ads should be used to offer more affordable alternatives alongside today's ad-free experiences, in the hopes more could play as a result. Similar to how Netflix and Disney+ have ad-tiers with all the same content, but at half the price or so," Ball wrote on social media, while cautioning that this did not mean "in-game ads" as he believed "interrupting the gameplay experience would be bad."