Recent reports suggest that Electronic Arts, the giant US video games company, is to release a free online game from its popular Battlefield series which will be unavailable to buy in the shops. The game will be available to download from a website and the plan is that lost sales revenues will be compensated for by the inclusion of adverts within the game and by "micro-payments" allowing players to buy items customising their appearance within the game.

The inclusion of adverts within video games is in itself nothing new, but this is thought to be the first time a major games company has looked to advertising as the sole funding for a release rather than a means by which sales revenues can be supplemented. It is also thought to be the first time that EA has attempted to tap into ad-driven revenue in their Western markets. They have a free version of their FIFA Online title available in South Korea which reportedly earns more than $1 million a month through in-game sales, with players buying items such as new strips.

According to a report in the Guardian, adverts will not appear in the gameplay itself but will be packaged around the game, with ads appearing on the website and the 'front-end' of the game. It seems EA plan to offer new and updated content for download through their website after the game's initial release. As well as keeping players interested and the game "fresh", this would mean that the company could continue to generate revenue with new adverts appearing in each new offering.

This move looks set to mark a significant step for the video game industry and is seen by many as EA experimenting with a move away from a retail focused business model and towards digital distribution. However, EA is not simply looking at a change of distribution method but also a change of revenue focus. Rather than offering games online to download for a set price, they have decided to offer the content for free to the end user with the only cost being that they must endure a certain level of advertising. This method has been discussed in relation to many different digital content forms. In relation to broadcasting content for example, it has been widely debated whether viewers will be prepared to sit through advertisements whilst watching programmes online.

What is clear is that the games industry does not face the same issue that the music industry does with respect to an advertisement driven revenue model. While the music industry has to deal with claims on the advertising revenue from, inter alia, the MCPS/PRS Alliance, the games companies are in a position to exploit the model much more effectively.