The gaming market is set to top $108 Billion in revenues in 2017. Versus Systems Inc, is looking to revolutionize advertising in the gaming industry

It’s been a shoot-and-miss trend for the gaming industry when it comes to advertising to players, their most engaged audience ever. But this may change soon. What AdWords and AdSense have done for Alphabet’s $656 Billion market valuation, a small company’s in-game prizing platform could do for brands with the world’s 2.6 Billion video gamers.

In the markets today, active companies include:  Alphabet Inc, Sony Corporation, Zynga Inc, Shopify Inc, Raytheon Company, among others. The gaming market is set to top $108 Billion in revenues this year (Newzoo) and a small company, Versus Systems Inc, is looking to revolutionize advertising in the gaming industry.

Versus is offering brands a relevant way to access the 2.6 Billion people who play PC, console, and mobile games – driving engagement for brands and game developers – while allowing players to play the games they love for real prizes.

Versus’ prizing and promotions platform allows game developers and brands to come together to offer prize-based matches to players, all integrated directly into the games.

It’s a rare triple-win for the gaming industry: For gamers, it means no more annoying pop-ups, takeovers, or banner ads. It also includes relevant prizes, gift cards and discounts. For brands, it promises pure, targeted brand engagement using technology that matches prizes to players, encouraging them to buy more. For developers, it allows a new advertising revenue stream, and gives gamers more incentives to play for longer, and more frequently.

Versus is protecting its platform with patent filings. Since 2014, Versus has been filing patents, which are pending, which in the digital era are the foundations of some of the world’s biggest companies. Patents are essential to the valuation of technology companies.

There’s an immediate revenue driver for Versus: The company recently signed a deal to provide in-game prizing to 704Games, which has an exclusive license to produce video games for NASCAR, the biggest spectator sport in America.

But gaming is only one segment of the interactive market Versus targets: Versus is planning to bring the prizing platform to virtual reality, augmented reality, and streaming media in the near future.

Here are 5 reasons to keep a close eye on Versus Systems, Inc:

1. In-Game Advertising Worth $10 Billion A Year In The Next 5 Years  

Research and Markets estimates that the global video games advertising market will grow nearly 14 percent by 2020, with a boost in female gamers driving much of it. Virtual reality games will be an entirely different market segment by 2020, when they are expected to account for $10 billion and nearly 9 percent of the market, according to Digi-Capital research.

Moreover, 2.6 billion people play video games worldwide, according to the ESA (Entertainment Software Association). Americans together spend over 50 million hours a day immersed in games. This represents a massive, highly-engaged, very desirable audience that could be worth multi-billions to advertisers all on its own.

2. Brands Get Engagement  

Gamers get prizes. Brands and game developers get engagement. Versus shares revenues from prizes 50/50 with developers.

For brands, it’s about the exposure you get from real engagement. And there’s plenty of secondary exposure, too. The Versus study suggests that players who win prizes are more likely to share their experience online on Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram-providing authentic earned media for brands. Prize partners include RockStar Energy Drink, Han Cholo, and Tier 1 Accessories.

3. Bringing Advertising To The Gaming Industry 

The Versus platform promises to be fast, flexible, and scalable – opening the gaming world to all kinds of brands – from the world’s largest beverage companies to local and niche advertisers. This means that big brands don’t have to spend millions on one-off deals that may or may not work, and smaller brands don’t have to dream of one day reaching the most engaged audience on earth.

This is made possible through Versus’ unique dashboard. Brands can easily upload prizes into the Versus dashboard; anything from digital goods to gift cards, to event and movie tickets, to haircare, skincare, snacks, energy drinks, and apparel. Those prizes can then be deployed into Versus-enabled games.

The system allows brands to create campaigns based on time, location, and inventory, and because each game appeals to a unique demographic, working with game developers on specific games will allow brands to reach the exact players that the brand seeks. The unique system takes care of player verification and dynamic regulatory compliance for in-game prizing.

4. Free To Play, Sponsored By Brands 

The company’s primary business model is ‘free to play, sponsored by brands’. Under their model, Versus will get paid on a per-prize or per-coupon code basis for every prize and/or coupon distributed on the system.

5. Data Will Drive The Game

There’s a goldmine of data here, too. Versus collects information that could be valuable to brands and products. Take Rockstar, for instance. They usually don’t know who’s buying their drinks or why, or even when. With Versus, they know where you were when you won the prize they offered, what you were doing when you redeemed your prize, what flavor you like and what prize you wanted.