Morning, afternoon, evening all - Joe here - welcome to Edition 69 of The SEG3 Report.

Today’s instalment brings you a guest piece from Gameloft for brands - where the team share their unique view as a game developer & gaming media network, and the best-practices they’ve learnt from integrating brands and advertisers into games over the past 25 years.

Also covered: Burnley FC partner with X to produce an original content series + Roblox officially launches ‘License Manager’, which may be the key for floodgates to open for IP and developer partnerships on the platform.

Let’s get into it!

Contents: Edition #69

• How in-game advertising helps to avoid ad-fatigue

• Burnley FC & X team up to produce original series for the platform

• Roblox officially launch ‘License Manager’ for IP owners 

How in-game advertising helps to avoid ad-fatigue

It’s been an exciting season for Gameloft for Brands, taking stages across various industry events to share insights that are shaping the future of digital media. At SEG3 in London, we had the honour of speaking alongside our partner NumberEight in the session "From Pixels to People: Gameloft & NumberEight on Future-Proofing Gaming for Brands." Together, we explored how gaming has transitioned from pure entertainment to a performance-driven, privacy-safe platform that delivers meaningful brand engagement at scale. The full session can be found here.

A few weeks ago at Cannes Lions, Gameloft for brands joined the brightest minds in advertising on the Croissette for insightful conversations around the evolving media landscape. From attention as the new currency, to the rise of AI, to the growing demand for truly engaging experiences, one message was clear: campaigns that capture attention drive better outcomes, and ultimately, stronger ROI. Gaming is no longer a niche. It’s being embraced as a key pillar in omni-channel media planning. Brands that invest in gaming are entering a high-attention, high-emotion space deeply embedded in everyday life, unlocking powerful opportunities for connection, relevance, and long-term brand impact. All within a brand-safe, controlled environment where messages are delivered with intention and integrity.

🎮 In-game advertising expands reach in a high-impact, brand-safe environment

As audiences become increasingly ad-fatigued, in-game advertising offers a truly engaging antidote. Unlike traditional formats and platforms. In-game ads are non- disruptive and natively embedded into the gaming experience itself. A branded billboard in a racing game or a sponsored stadium banner in a soccer game feels natural to the player, delivering impact without breaking immersion.

A Lumen study showed that in-game formats can drive 98% viewability, with players spending 2X more time looking at branded placements compared to traditional digital ads. But engagement isn’t just about time spent. It’s about attention with intent. Pairing advanced AI-powered contextual targeting with in-game immersive experiences allows brand messaging to appear at the most meaningful moments. Furthermore, in-game environments are highly controlled, free from user-generated content, and designed to minimize brand adjacency risks.

🕹 Get in the game!

Marketers today face increasing challenges in capturing audience attention, as consumers grow more resistant to traditional ads, multitask across multiple screens, and demand more relevant, personalized experiences. In this landscape, in-game advertising stands out by meeting audiences where they’re most engaged, offering marketers a powerful solution to break through the noise and build authentic connections.

COMBO! Gameloft for Brands’ dedicated gaming media network delivers the attention, reach, and relevance that modern marketers demand. All within a fully immersive and compliant ecosystem, covering premium in-game inventory across our award-winning titles and trusted publishing partners.

• The largest premium in-game ad network, with over 1.3 billion monthly active users.

• Dedicated gaming media network covering premium in-game inventory across our  award-winning titles and trusted publishing partners. 

• Advanced AI-powered contextual targeting to predict audience segments based  on interests, gender and age. 

• A UGC-free environment 

• Gaming portfolio includes Angry Birds, Minion Rush, Talking Tom, Asphalt, June’s  Journey, among other popular titles. 

Explore more on how your brand can win in-game here.

Burnley FC & X team up to produce original series for the platform

Burnley Football Club has entered a multi-year partnership with X (formerly Twitter), marking the first collaboration of its kind between the social media platform and a Premier League club. The partnership will produce a 20-episode documentary series, released bi-weekly, which will offer behind-the-scenes access to the club's 2025/26 Premier League season.

Why should you care?

TL;DR: X is ramping up their focus on the UK market, and with Burnley, they have access to a brand that is going to be in-front of millions each weekend, with the majority of football fans already using X as the hub for conversation. The partnership takes it another step by bringing original video content to the platform, which X will hope entices more eyeballs and attention away from the likes of TikTok, and increases the time-spent with them.

In full: Despite the rollercoaster ride since Musk’s takeover, X still remains the go-to for conversation around sports.

This partnership with Burnley for original content shows they may be about to try and ramp up their efforts to compete with more video-first platforms like TikTok for eyeballs and attention (and as step one - they have already tweaked the platforms mechanics so that once a video is opened, you can swipe up to discover new content).

But there’s a ways to go, with an Oberlo report finding that users on TikTok are spending 69 minutes a day on the platform vs just 11 minutes per day on X.

It goes to show just how sticky video content can be for audiences, and given the habits that sports fans already have to congregate on X for conversation, the addition of original content to increase users time spent on the platform feels like a smart move for the platform.

And for Burnley, it’s equally as interesting because:

1. The sponsorship clearly has a commercial benefit to the club.
   
   → Fairly self-explanatory, but Burnley have now managed to directly commercialise a channel they have put significant time, effort and resource into (think their transfer reveal videos) - and will now have the platforms full backing to help grow the brand.
   
   

2. Behind-the-scenes content & the cadence
   
   → Fans want granular insight into the day-to-day of the favourite clubs, and BTS content gives them that connection on a personal level (Formula 1’s Drive to Survive proved that thesis).
   
   → Episodes will be released bi-weekly, which gives fans, and X, a steady stream of content throughout Burnley’s first season back in the Premier League. It’s a more regular cadence which means they can remain part of the conversation year round, rather than just at certain points in the calendar.
   
   → Given the interactive nature of social, and the release schedule, they’ll be able to respond to real-time events (and feedback from fans) to make the episodes as topical and on-trend as possible. And considering internet, and sporting culture moves at a million miles an hour, this is a big benefit.
   
   

3. Audience Growth 
   
   → New audiences on X may discover Burnley, and on the flip side, the draw of original content may bring Burnley fans to the platform.
   
   → I am intrigued what their distribution strategy is for the content once aired on X, and whether there are limitations here given the sponsorship. Will reach via other channels be sacrificed for platform exclusivity?
   

All in all, I like the direction of this partnership. X lock in original content from a club about to embark on a season in the Premier League (at a time they seem to be doubling down on the UK market), and Burnley get support from the platform they decided to focus their energy into a long while ago to grow their audience.

And for fans, it’s a bigger dose of content, more access and more chance to join the conversation - which in the end can only be a good thing for them, Burnley & X.

Roblox officially launch ‘License Manager’ for IP owners

Roblox has launched a new licensing platform, introducing the License Manager, which enables intellectual property holders to integrate their characters and content into games on its platform. This initiative allows game developers to use popular IPs such as Netflix's Stranger Things and Squid Game, Lionsgate's Twilight and Saw, SEGA's Like a Dragon, and Kodansha's Attack on Titan.

Why should you care?

TL;DR: This launch means brands can now license their IPs directly with creators, helping to protect and monetise their content. However, Roblox will have to carefully balance between developer creativity, and IP enforcement, to keep both singing in harmony. Here’s to hoping it’s more of a collaborative approach than take-down culture.

In full: License Manager was teased a few weeks back, but it’s now here.

Which means there’s now a whole new way for IPs to get involved on Roblox - Building Experiences, Integrations, UGC items/Shopping, Advertising and now, Licensing, which opens up an entirely new avenue.

What will License Manager mean?

It now means brands & IP can track exactly where their content is being used, and how it’s being monetised - and in a UGC environment where fan and developer creations may sometimes cross the line into infringement, this has been hard to monitor effectively on the platform until now.

Take Netflix’s Squid Game, for example. Up until a few weeks ago, Netflix did not have an official game on the platform, yet had countless fan-made games like Shrimp Game and Ink Game filling the void. Whilst these fan games were fantastic for developers, and successful in keeping the Squid Game brand front and centre, there was obviously no direct commercial benefit to Netflix from these games.

With License Manager, that changes. Now, IP owners who register can create and customise licenses with developers who want to use their IP. It formalises the process, respects that commercial value of IP owners brands, and helps developers to bring new audiences to their games.

Todd Lichten, Head of Entertainment Partnerships at Roblox says it well:

It’s undoubtedly a smart move to introduce licensing (in an easy way) to the platform. It’s a way of working that many global brands & IP understand and are comfortable with, and should be a catalyst for more well-known franchises and brands to enter the platform, which in-turn will bring new audiences.

However, with License Managers introduction, there could well be a bit of friction because:

Will Roblox now start enforcing more of a take-down culture to protect IP owners? What impact will it have on players experience? How will creators that have built successful ‘copycat’ games - like those based on Squid Game - be treated? Will these be shutdown, or will there be a retroactive model put in place for these developers?

These are questions we’ll have answered over the coming months, but as we talked about in Edition #64:

To round out, the launch of License Manager brings a more traditional, commercial and controlled way for IPs to operate within the Roblox ecosystem, which will be a positive move for both brands and creators. The next step will be to see if, and how, it impacts the creator-driven community, and how well Roblox can maintain its original spirit while offering more commercial avenues for brands & IP to engage.

In other news this week:

• Livewire team up with the NFL for ‘Race to the End Zone’ docuseries: read here.

• A technical behind the scenes of Netflix’s live streaming: read here.

• Club Brugge launch loyalty program, Club Loyalty: read here.

• Ubisoft to bring live-action Assassins Creed series to Netflix: read here.

• Coca-Cola’s Sprite partners with Snipes: see here.

• Netflix to increase spending in games: read here.

• Deltatre announces acquisition of Endeavor Streaming: read here.

• King to replace laid off staff with AI tools they built: read here.

• Venmo launches into Club Roblox: see here.

• Arsenal FC launch new Ticketing Hub: read here.

• American Dad comes to Call of Duty: see here.

• Razer launches collection with Pokémon: read here.

• Berlin International Gaming (BIG) partners with Philips: read here.

• Kings League brings UGC collection to Roblox: see here.

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!

That’s all for now folks - thanks again for reading the latest edition of The SEG3 Report and if you found it of interest, please do consider sharing with a friend!