Sony and the advertising
According to Sony, the money from advertising goes directly to the developers. However, it is not yet 100 percent certain whether Sony might not keep a small share for itself. However, what Sony definitely stays with is advertising data, which they can then sell to developers and third parties.
The future of free to play
Free-to-play games have always been very popular. Current examples of immensely popular free games are Genshin Impact and Fortnite. But even big brands like Call of Duty are increasingly offering free versions of their games. Of course, the development of such games is not free and developers, like everyone else, want to be paid fairly for their work. Most of the time, games like Fortnite and Genshin Impact bring in large sums of money through microtransactions. Microtransactions are optional in-game purchases that work with real money. Most of the time, the game can be played without the special items from Microtransactions, but anything bought with real money often brings benefits.
Genshin Impact is free, but many players still spend a lot of money in the game.
An example is Genshin Impact, which at first glance is completely free. Even the game's exclusive currency can also be earned without using real money. However, this is immensely time-consuming. So if you would like to have a certain character, or just want to progress faster in the game, you can reach into your own wallet. The purchases are often for small sums between five and 50 euros. However, over time, these expenses add up and players spend more money on a free game than they would pay for a regular game. However, many find this to be fair because the microtransactions are optional. Nobody has to buy anything.
It becomes problematic when a purchased game also contains microtransactions despite a high purchase price. Especially when they give players an advantage. Many feel this is unfair and rightly upset about it. Advertising in free-to-play games could give developers a way out of microtransactions. It is still uncertain whether players will ultimately prefer advertising to microtransactions. However, it is clear that advertising and microtransactions are an integral part of the future of free-to-play games.
