Earlier this month, we reported that Microsoft was shutting down its in-game ad unit Massive, which it purchased back in 2006. The in-game advertising business has not seen the kind of growth some had expected, and Microsoft today made it official: the company will "sunset" the Massive group by year's end. Last year, Microsoft cut 28 percent of Massive's staff, and now the in-game ad firm's technology will be "redeployed."
A Microsoft spokesperson elaborated on the decision: "Massive technology will be redeployed to our first party ad business, focusing initially on gaming and eventually expanding to other Microsoft opportunities. Central to this announcement is our decision to work closely with the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) at Microsoft to continue developing and expanding the Massive technology."
Microsoft plans to continue expanding the Massive technology to "meet the needs of our first-party gaming advertisers on owned and operated properties like Xbox LIVE and MSN Games." What this means is you'll probably be seeing many more ads in your Xbox Live dashboard. The company noted that it "represents a tremendous opportunity for Microsoft to further elevate Xbox LIVE advertising as the singular Microsoft in-game and around game advertising platform for advertisers."
Microsoft still charges for its Xbox Live service (if you want to play online), but perhaps with enough advertising they'll one day offer a genuinely free online platform. We'd love to see a flood of free-to-play games hit Xbox Live as well.
[Thanks Gamasutra]
