Google Is Selling Ad Space in Roblox via Immersive Ads

Get ready for the next stage of metaverse-aligned ads, with Google launching new ad space within Roblox as the first of its gaming in-world promotions.

As you can see in this example, using Google’s Immersive Ads format, you’ll soon be able to display promotions within Roblox experiences.

As explained by Google:

“Immersive Ads exist within the gaming experience, whether it’s a billboard ad you see driving through a virtual city or an ad on the big screen during a virtual football game. They blend naturally into the game environment, enhancing the experience. Since we began testing Immersive Ads last year, we’ve made improvements to streamline implementation and have added video formats, opening up even more opportunities for publishers and advertisers.”

Those video formats will also enable advertisers to place 30-second video ads within Roblox, which users will glean in-game benefits from for watching.

As per Roblox:

“In return, users receive in-game benefits from the creators of these games and experiences, also known as the ad publishers. Early tests show an average completion rate over 80%, with select experiences seeing completion rates over 90% as users saw the value in rewards, such as power-ups or in-game currency, and considered these ads additive to their overall experience.”

Which feels a little dystopian, right? Now we’re advertising to kids in games?

I mean, yes, to a degree. But then again, the gaming community is always growing, and it’s not all little kids engaging in these digital worlds.

And as noted, this is also the vision for the next stage of digital connection, when we’ll all be conducting our interactions within virtual worlds, via character avatars, in what Meta sees as its own metaverse experience.

Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite are really the templates for this, and players within these games are already well attuned to interacting via their on-screen characters, while Meta will also enable a more immersive variation via VR as well.

As such, it’s inevitable that ads will also be coming. Roblox has also had branded experiences since 2022, including options to buy clothing upgrades for your digital characters, or acquire them via in-game achievements. Among the items on offer, Roblox has a range of exclusive digital fashion items available from Gucci, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, and more.

So, really, this is not a huge leap, but it will be interesting to see how Google looks to manage what ads are displayed within Roblox, and what kind of response these promotions generate in the app.