This post was created in partnership with Xbox
Will Pac-Man one day chomp on branded fruit? That may be a stretch, but gaming is providing advertisers with new opportunities to reach consumers.
During a CES 2026 ADWEEK House session co-hosted with Xbox, Will Lee, CEO of ADWEEK, sat down with Jonathan Stringfield, VP, global business strategy, analytics, and trust at Microsoft Advertising, to discuss how advertisers can leverage the power of video games in their campaigns.
A growing—and focused—audience
Stringfield highlighted how games continue to grow across console, PC, and mobile, and that expansion includes demographics that go beyond the stereotypical young male “gamer.”
“I almost never use the term ‘gamer,’” he said. “That loads our heads with all sorts of things that are probably not representative of the people who are actually playing games. Yes, tons of young men play games. However, so do their parents and their grandparents.”
Stringfield explained that the real strength of this diverse audience is that its engagement comes with complete focus. Attention is a premium in an increasingly fragmented advertising landscape, and games deliver.
“There’s no dual screening. You are engaging with the mechanics of the game,” he said. “When we talk about what advertisers are looking for, which is fundamentally brokering on attention, that feels attractive.”
Thoughtful integration
Stringfield is a game player himself, which has led to a philosophy that puts the player first: Ad integration should not interrupt the experience. It would be easy for advertisers to slap brand logos inside a game, but he believes intentional placement is more mutually beneficial.
One example Stringfield shared was for the Call of Duty series. In these games, players move through urban environments that include real-world details like billboards. The game designers could put a made-up brand on the billboards, but it’s a prime spot for an advertiser—and doing so makes the game world feel more real.
Including a real brand can help deepen the player’s immersion in the environment. Stringfield explained, “While playing, if I see notable brand XYZ on a billboard that I would expect to see anywhere else in the city or wherever I was, that is actually enriching the gameplay experience.”
Virtual world, human-centered
As advertisers increasingly move toward gaming, Stringfield reminded them that the values of traditional campaigns still apply. The gaming ecosystem is diverse, and asking the right questions is important to targeting the right consumer on the right platform playing the right game. Gaming shouldn’t just “check a box.”
“The strategies that you enact on any other platform, we want to start there,” he explained. “Are you trying to reach more people? Are you trying to drive a trial?”
