Electronic Arts has launched a formal in-game advertising platform called EA Advertising. The platform lets brands place ads and branded content directly inside EA’s games, including EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, and College Football 26.
EA described the goal as integrations that “enhance, not disrupt, the player experience.”
What EA Advertising Actually Is
The platform is built on a proprietary ad server and SDK inside EA’s Frostbite game engine. Before this, EA handled brand deals through one-off custom integrations built game by game. The new system centralizes that across EA’s entire portfolio.
“The way that game publishers have done this before always required a lot of custom work and resources, so it was not scalable. It was done game by game, studio by studio,” said Alex Dao, EA’s VP of advertising and sponsorship. “The big difference is that we have built a centralized ad platform that can feed across all of our games.”
Brands can buy placements on a CPM basis. Pricing ranges from $1 to $10 CPM depending on title and placement. EA worked with the IAB to standardize in-game ad assets and partnered with Integral Ad Science for viewability verification and LiveRamp for identity matching.
What Ads Look Like In-Game
The ad inventory takes two main forms. One is media placements that mirror real-world sports advertising. Digital ad boards, scoreboards, and brand broadcast overlays are dynamically served within the game, with brands receiving data on ad impressions.
The other is deeper brand integrations. These let brands and agencies appear as in-game challenges, reward-driven objectives, and branded content. EA also says brands can update and optimize campaigns based on player engagement data.
At launch, targeting is available based on geography and flight date.
Who Is Already In
EA announced several existing brand partners as part of an EA Sports Partner Program. Here is what each one did:
- Lowe’s had Ultimate Team content in EA Sports FC, Madden NFL, and College Football, including challenges and branded player content. EA says more than 200,000 of these challenges were completed.
- Red Bull had branded in-game objectives and team kits in EA Sports FC, driving more than 128 million matches played and 1.2 million objectives completed.
- Xfinity and Peacock had in-stadium and broadcast-style integrations, custom vanity kits, Ultimate Team packs, and personalized rewards in EA Sports FC.
- Mountain Dew had Dew University in EA Sports College Football 26, described as a fully playable team experience with a custom stadium, mascot, and reward ecosystem.
- Visa is partnering with EA Sports FC and EA Sports College Football to develop “immersive, participatory experiences.”
Visa and crypto exchange Gemini are among the first official partners under EA Advertising. The EA Sports Partner Program grants brands access to tentpole franchise moments, including cover reveals, player ratings reveals, and live events like the Madden Bowl during Super Bowl week.
