ContactToday, in-game commerce is an $80 billion global economy built almost entirely on microtransactions: skins, power-ups, battle passes, digital outfits and currencies. In 2024, GTA and Zynga owner Take-Two earned just under 80% of its revenue from microtransactions, with Apex Legends owner EA not far behind. It is a reminder of how the biggest standalone publishers sustain themselves, but the in-game commerce model is widespread throughout the industry, regardless of whether games are free.
It’s clear this revenue model will continue to drive the industry forward, and the logical evolution, as we see it, is to move from internal to external commerce. That is, from the purchase of items that can only be used in the video game to the purchase of real-world objects and experiences.
Consumer expectations are already shifting due to new advertising formats on Connected TV. Amazon recently unveiled a suite of AI-powered ad formats on Prime Video, including pause ads that match the context of a scene and shoppable ads powered by real-time pricing. In the UK, ITV has embedded shoppable content from retailer Boots into its hit show Love Island, using AI to identify and tag over 500 products per episode. During the last season, viewers on 1.5 million LG Smart TVs were able to shop directly from the screen while watching the show.
For game developers and publishers, the rise of shoppable formats in CTV should be a wake-up call. As audiences become accustomed to making purchases while watching TV shows, they are bound to expect the same from video games. If Prime Video can make product discovery and purchase feel native to a story arc, then video games, which are already immersive and interactive, have no excuse to lag behind.
In 2025, shoppable ads will gain a larger share of investment as marketers seek to prove the ROI for every dollar spent. According to the IAB, only 1 in 5 are increasing their spend on brand marketing, while more than half are increasing performance ads. The same study shows that big spenders ($ 50 M+ annual spend) are more likely to invest in advertising experiences that provide a seamless path to purchase within platforms.
Video games are closed, high-intent ecosystems where users pay to participate, opt into identity, and already spend significant amounts of money. The planning opportunity is to treat in-game environments as native commerce layers that support interactive, CPA-driven advertising campaigns. However, that’s not to say there are no problems to solve. To capture performance spend, in-game commerce needs to solve for attribution that enables buyers to tie upper-funnel awareness efforts to lower-funnel conversions.
Bidstack’s dynamic ad placements turn video games into shoppable experiences. From in-game to in-menu placements, we give game developers the tools to surface clickable commerce moments contextualised by first-party audience data, player choices, or gameplay events. Nowhere is this more powerful than in sports simulation games, where players align themselves with real-world sports brands and replicate their loyalties in a virtual space. A goal scored in-game can trigger a relevant merch offer or a QR code for discounted tickets. Campaigns can be CPA-led with no upfront media spend, just performance-based payouts. That means higher take rates for media owners, less risk for media buyers, and net-new monetisation for IP rights holders. Supported by third-party integrations for attribution measurement, brands can run brand and performance advertising side by side within a single, unified campaign and gaming experience.
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