In his end of month column, New Digital Age’s editor Michael Feeley points to investments in the gaming industry that could lead to a new age of immersive, interactive advertising…
Two bits of news from within the gaming industry caught my attention this month.
The first is that a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) with Silver Lake and Affinity Partners (a firm founded by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner) has agreed to acquire games giant Electronic Arts (EA), developers of some of the most popular sports franchise games in the world. EA will be taken back into private hands (i.e. delisted) as a result.
The all-cash transaction valued EA at $55 billion and was financed with $36B equity and $20B debt (JPMorgan as lead arranger). The buyout could bring some real heat to the in-game advertising ecosystem. For example, the debt element of the buyout creates a need to maximize near-term cash flow, which will likely push EA toward expanding ad monetisation and its dynamic in-game ad products.
EA’s big franchises (including Madden, FIFA/FC, Battlefield, and The Sims) are attractive inventory for brand campaigns. EA could prefer selling premium inventory directly or via a limited set of partners. Likewise, as a private company, EA may be more willing to bundle first-party player data into ad products, within regulatory constraints. That said, losing player goodwill risks long-term revenue, so expect EA to experiment carefully with its opt-in mechanics.
The second story to catch my eye was that Digital Catapult, the UK authority on advanced digital technology, has announced a £400,000 investment in deep tech startup Immersely to scale its solution across creative industries. Immersely processes biometric inputs from smart watches and sensors to track players’ emotional states and in-game reactions to create hyper-personalised gaming experiences tailored to each player. By applying emotional intelligence, the system identifies which elements enhance player enjoyment and which diminish engagement, providing valuable insights for future game design and development.
The startup has already demonstrated success across genres including horror, where Immersely’s technology can deliver perfectly calibrated scares that adapt to each player’s comfort level and fear response, maintaining optimal fear levels without overwhelming players. In health and wellness, meanwhile, it has created therapeutic gaming environments that promote stress reduction and relaxation, demonstrating applications for the UK’s gaming industry.
In 2025, the total video games/digital games market is worth an estimated US$220-250B, with in-game advertising (IGA) revenues somewhere between US$70-125B+ depending on how IGA is classified. What’s more, advertising is expected to account for a growing proportion of digital games revenues in the years to come.
The world of digital advertising is constantly shifting and evolving but, for me, these new developments suggest that the in-game advertising marketplace will be a true hotspot of innovation and interactivity for marketers in the years ahead. A new age of fully immersive and hyper-personalised ad experiences could be just around the corner.
Whatever happens next, New Digital Age will be there to provide you with all the latest news and views from across the global digital advertising landscape.
Until next time, wishing us all a prosperous October,
Michael Feeley
Editor
New Digital Age
