It was bound to happen: Facebook is going to test ads in virtual reality.
On Wednesday, the company revealed it’s going to begin experimenting with the ads in the Oculus Quest title Blaston from Resolution Games. The experiment will also expand to two other unnamed developers in the coming weeks.
Facebook, which develops the Oculus VR headsets, described the experiment as “a small test of in-headset ads.” As an example, the company shared a screenshot of how the ads will appear in Blaston. The result is a banner that hangs alongside an arena in the game. The ad itself promotes Jasper’s Market, a Facebook project that recommends locally sourced foods.
“For now, this is a test with a few apps—once we see how this test goes and incorporate feedback from developers and the community, we’ll provide more details on when ads may become more broadly available across the Oculus Platform and in the Oculus mobile app,” the company wrote on the Oculus blog.
During the test, Facebook will also monitor whether users interacted with an ad or hid it from view. However, the company stresses it won’t be tapping any data stored on Oculus VR headsets or from your virtual conversations to power the ad targeting.
Still, because the company is trying to require Oculus VR owners to sign in with a Facebook account, the social network can still analyze your personal data to serve up targeted ads. “Ads are most effective when they’re high-quality and relevant—because of that, Oculus ads will follow Facebook’s advertising principles, the first of which is ‘build for people first,’" it says.
'Ready Player One' Meets Reality?
As we all know, ads can be annoying. The online advertising ecosystem also relies on extensive data collection, which can undermine your privacy.
But on the flip side, Facebook points out the same ecosystem is a useful way to help VR software developers generate revenue. “This is a key part of ensuring we’re creating a self-sustaining platform that can support a variety of business models that unlock new types of content and audiences,” the company adds. “It also helps us continue to make innovative AR/VR hardware more accessible to more people.”
The company also notes users will be able to control the ad experience on Oculus devices. “We’re including controls to hide specific ads or hide ads from an advertiser completely. Users can also access more detailed Ad Preferences from any ad via our ‘Why am I seeing this ad?’ interface. As our tests progress, we’ll continue listening to feedback to improve the ads people see,” Facebook added.
Still, the news might remind some of the sci-fi book and film Ready Player One, which revolves around a VR world known as the Oasis. In it, the villain corporation schemes to try and take over Oasis with the goal of introducing ads everywhere.
In Facebook’s case, the company is focused on “unobtrusive ads” for now. But it’s also exploring “new ad formats that are unique to VR,” suggesting it has even bigger ambitions for the emerging business. "We’re eager to hear what you think, so please feel free to reach out to Oculus Support to share your feedback," the company says.