• by Colin Kirkland , April 10, 2024

Roblox has announced a partnership with supply-side platform (SSP) PubMatic, which will enable programmatic media buying of the popular metaverse gaming platform's video advertising inventory when it becomes available later this year.

According to Stephanie Latham, Roblox's vice president of global partnerships, the virtual gaming company is trying to help advertisers reach its 71 million daily active users through content formats its majority-Gen Z audience loves, like video, while also providing ad controls around brand suitability.

Roblox began testing video ads at the end of 2023 in attempts to better monetize the platform, giving revenue sharing opportunities to developers who feature ads in their virtual worlds.

As an extension of portal ads, which transport users to a new world upon entrance, video ads link users directly to the brands’ experiences within the platform -- an experience that is “built to be immersive instead of disruptive,” Latham notes.

The new ad offering is currently going through an alpha test and, according to the company, will become broadly available to advertisers later this year. In addition, the video ads inventory will be made available to PubMatic buyers via programmatic guaranteed, private marketplaces, auction package deals and open exchange.

PubMatic says this will help Roblox access the SSP's supply=path optimization deals with ad agencies and major brands.

Video ads must comply with Roblox’s Community Standards and Advertising Standards and will not be served to users younger than 13 years old.