Microsoft has acquired in-game advertising company Massive. The company will be responsible for delivering dynamic, relevant ads across Microsoft's online services. This will include on Xbox Live and MSN Games. In quite a novel move, Massive will deliver such ads within games - such as soft-drink cans and pizza boxes where gamers would expect to see them in real life. Microsoft and Massive claim that this adds to the game's realism.

"Advertisers are having a tough time connecting with the elusive 18- to 34-year-old male demographic because this group continues to spend less time watching TV and more time playing video games", said Joanne Bradford, corporate vice president of Global Sales and Marketing and chief media revenue officer at Microsoft. "Massive and Microsoft can help lead with our shared vision of delivering more targeted, measurable and effective opportunities for advertisers to reach today's youth audience in a largely untapped market."