"Players complained that there were no more rewarded ads in their game": Interview with Romain Devichi and Hugues Ossart

Long seen as a mobile-only publisher, Gameloft is now establishing itself as a key player in cross-platform gaming. Since its acquisition by Vivendi nine years ago, the studio has expanded its scope around three core pillars: developing and publishing hit games like Disney Dreamlight Valley, Minion Rush, and Asphalt Legends Unite; distributing those titles to global operators; and building an advertising monetization unit, Gameloft for brands, dedicated to integrating ad experiences into games.

This third pillar operates within a Free-to-Play model, where only a small portion of players — around 5% — make in-app purchases. Advertising thus becomes crucial to generate revenue from the remaining 95%. Leveraging its dual status as both a publisher and the owner of a proprietary ad network, Gameloft for brands launched an expanded network called COMBO! The Gaming Media Network. The goal: to unite top publishers like Rovio, Activision Blizzard, Outfit7, Zynga, and Scopely into a network reaching over one billion monthly players across a hundred premium titles on mobile, PC, and console.

So how has this network evolved over time? Who is it for? And what sets it apart in the market? Romain Devichi, Head of Sales Western Europe, and Hugues Ossart, Global Marketing Director at Gameloft for brands, share their insights.

In 2025, are brands convinced by the relevance of advertising in video games?

Romain Devichi: Unfortunately, not quite yet. I've worked at the intersection of brands and gaming for over fifteen years, and I thought that by now — ten or fifteen years in — the market would have matured. But we’re still not there. Brands still don’t naturally consider video games, even though the offering is now extremely robust.

With COMBO! at Gameloft for brands, we’re aligned with all standard advertising metrics: our formats are the same as those used on TV, websites, and platforms like Meta or YouTube — and can be reused in gaming without modification. We also work with the same buying models — CPM, CPV, and so on — and we provide the same reporting standards during or post-campaign: completion rates, click-through rates, viewability, attention... all the essential KPIs are there.

This allows us to tell brands: there's no need to completely rethink your media strategy or build custom assets. You can work with us just like with any other media. We'll run your campaign and show you metrics that align with your usual benchmarks.

Your offer still stands out, particularly with a commitment to high-quality content…

RD: Absolutely. COMBO! is an alliance of premium game publishers. Many digital media today are filled with questionable content — some of it even toxic or anxiety-inducing. And often, these environments are oversaturated with ads, producing a "Christmas tree" effect where brands struggle to stand out, or worse, become completely invisible, losing the impact of their investment.

In our case, most of the games are free. That means players can leave at any time if the experience doesn’t meet their expectations — unlike paid games, where the purchase represents more commitment. That's why the quality of the environment is key. We only collaborate with publishers who share this premium content mindset to ensure a coherent experience across the network.

When a brand runs its campaign through COMBO!, it benefits from a brand-safe environment where ads aren’t constantly competing for attention. In fact, it’s quite rare — with us, 100% share of voice is common, with only one brand displayed at any given moment. Most of our formats are also non-intrusive, as they are directly embedded into the game’s editorial line — crafted by the development teams — rather than dictated by trending news or social media cycles, as is often the case with traditional media.

Compared to social media, is gaming a safer way to reach younger generations?

RD: Today, 90–95% of Gen Alpha plays video games. When brands go to social media, it's typically to reach teens or young adults. But these audiences are increasingly hard to reach via traditional channels: they don’t watch TV, they don’t visit news sites, and they mainly get their information from platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and to a lesser extent, Instagram.

Gaming, however, offers a strategic advantage. Social platforms have very few safeguards — anyone can post anything, potentially exposing brands to unpredictable, user-generated content that might not align with their values. That’s not a criticism of social platforms per se — there’s great content too — but brands can’t always control the context in which they appear.

Conversely, video games offer a way to reach these same audiences in a controlled, coherent, and safe environment. It’s one of the few media today that combines youth reach with brand image control.

Hugues Ossart: Gaming is a highly regulated medium. In Europe, there’s PEGI; in North America, it’s the ESRB. For under-13 games, compliance with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) is also recommended. There are also strict rules around in-game advertising, which allows us to offer a particularly safe environment.

But regulation doesn’t stop there: every game is reviewed by the publisher and the platform itself. Major players like PlayStation, Microsoft, Nintendo, or Apple enforce their own safety standards, which further strengthens this trust-based ecosystem. There are multiple layers of validation, making sure content remains safe and compliant at every level.

You mentioned Gen Alpha and families... Does COMBO! offer different audience segments?

HO: Yes, we’ve structured COMBO! into three audience-specific offerings: COMBO! Kids, COMBO! Core, and COMBO! Pop. Each one targets a specific player profile — because not all brands speak to the same audience.

COMBO! Kids is designed for moments of parent-child connection, targeting today’s connected households. You'll find iconic brands like LEGO, Hasbro, Bandai, and other family-friendly giants here.

Why? Because gaming has become a true family activity. According to the latest SELL study, the average gamer in France is 38 years old. Today’s parents grew up playing games — and they still play. Even more striking: 77% of parents play with their children.

Gaming is now a shared experience — a moment of emotion and bonding at home. For brands, it’s a unique opportunity to become part of these joyful, high-attention moments. COMBO! Kids builds that bridge between entertainment, generational affinity, and advertising impact.

COMBO! Core targets the most engaged players — mostly Gen Z and Millennials — for whom gaming is more than entertainment: it’s part of their identity. These core gamers have played since childhood and continue into adulthood or parenthood. Hyper-connected fans of streaming series, tech, and pop culture, they’re early adopters and powerful influencers. 80% of them consider gaming essential for relaxation, challenge, or socializing. COMBO! Core allows brands to enter their world with immersive and authentic formats. Brands like Samsung, Ecovacs, and others in lifestyle, tech, mobility, or entertainment have already found their audience — but any vertical can benefit from this passionate, influential segment.

COMBO! Pop, finally, targets casual gamers — a broad, multi-generational, and often female audience. In France, 1 in 2 gamers is a woman. This group forms a vital part of the gaming landscape. With COMBO! Pop, we reach young adults (18–25), Gen X, and even Boomers. Games like Candy Crush are a hit with 34–49-year-olds, while word or puzzle games attract even retirees. It’s an ideal offering for mainstream brands — finance, insurance, health, services — like Cofidis, Caisse des Dépôts, or any brand wanting to engage a broad audience during everyday relaxation.

Everyone plays today — and these offers are designed to reflect that generational diversity.

Did you gather a large amount of data to build these profiles?

HO: Video games are interactive by nature — the player is the protagonist of their own experience. This interactivity enables us to collect a large volume of behavioral data in-game. As a publisher, we know exactly what the player does: what they buy or don’t buy, their level of engagement, session frequency and length, time of day they play… These are incredibly powerful insights, which we also share with our publisher partners.

We can identify each player’s preferences: do they lean toward action, sports, puzzle, or strategy games? We also collect declared data, like age, which is mandatory when advertising in free-to-play titles.

These data points allow for highly refined curation, defining precise contexts for each brand or industry. And we go even further by enriching this dataset with insights from trusted partners.

We currently collaborate with NumberEight, a company that developed innovative tech — different from most market players. While others rely on IP addresses, NumberEight collects data directly from hardware — GPS chips, motion sensors, etc. This allows us to know where a user is, how fast they're moving, the type of area (residential, commercial…), what time and for how long. We can even detect if someone is walking, running, or cycling.

Thanks to AI and specific algorithms from NumberEight, we can deduce behaviors — are they a shopper, an athlete, a traveler? — and combine that with contextual data. This makes contextual targeting even more precise, which is essential today.

Gaming reaches 3.2 billion players worldwide — and over a third are within our network. Everyone plays. But knowing who, when, and how — that’s what allows brands to aim precisely.

As both publisher and ad network, you must be even more invested in making ads relevant — so players stay immersed…

RD: Exactly. For players, ads need to be relevant and resonate with the game experience. Video games are inherently attention-driven — they’re interactive and engaging. But ad acceptance and engagement depend entirely on good targeting, the right message, creative fit, and timing.

That’s where our expertise comes in: knowing exactly when to insert an ad, which creative format to use, and what kind of brand it fits. A few years ago, we ran tests where we removed ads from some free-to-play games that used both ads and in-app purchases. We wanted to see the impact on player behavior. Surprisingly, many players reacted negatively — they missed the ads.

It may seem counterintuitive, but that’s because of the format — rewarded video. This type of ad is positively perceived because it offers a direct benefit: watch a video, get an in-game advantage. It enhances the experience, not interrupts it. Players saw it as a useful tool — which is why some wanted it back.

HO: Advertising serves two main roles in gaming. First, it can enhance realism. For example, in a football game, seeing real brands on the field makes the experience more immersive and believable.

Second, it can deliver bonus content to players: new modes, exclusive skins, a unique car added to a racing game through an automotive partnership... Or even a moment post-defeat, where the brand offers a second chance if the player watches an ad.

These rewarded or assistive mechanics — where ads help enhance or extend gameplay — significantly increase ad acceptance. The brand becomes a natural, helpful, even appreciated part of the experience.

You started as mobile-first. Is COMBO! also available on PC and console now? Was it hard to scale?

RD: Yes, we started as mobile-first. But even when we launched our ad network, our games were already available on Windows Stores — so we were on both mobile and PC, with some technical adaptations that are now fully resolved. Today, we offer the same tracking capabilities…

This article was originally published in French in The Media Leader.